The Russian government allocated an additional 10 million euros for the construction of a new sarcophagus over the destroyed fourth power unit of Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as stated in a decree published on Thursday, April 30.
The MPs found that the state program to carry out the work only had enough funding to complete 57 percent of the plan. The predicted funds for 2015 do not even cover the immediate needs. "As a result the implementation of measures on the decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is in jeopardy," stated the Ukrainian parliament, media reports.
Following the Chernobyl accident a concrete structure, a sarcophagus, was constructed to prevent the further spread of the leaked radiation.
The current decommissioning process involves not only the shutdown of the reactor but also eliminating all of the sources of radiation by getting rid of the processed radioactive fuel in order to create a clean environment.
In the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant the construction of the "Vector" complex is already underway, specifically designed for the disposal of nuclear fuel. There are about 730 people working at the site with about half of them the former employees of the station.