Remembering Chernobyl 23 years on

Twenty three years after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in his country, Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, has announced an ambitious program to dismantle the Chernobyl nuclear complex. Unit 4 of the former Soviet nuclear power station exploded on April 26, 1986 and burned for days, lofting radioactivity around the world in what has been called the world's worst industrial accident. It will take close to $700 million in joint Ukrainian and U.S. financing to start the massive decommissioning project which Yuschenko says can be completed in 55 years including the complete dismantlement of all four reactor units. However, such predictions are likely optimistic given the nuclear industry's track record of performing chronically behind schedule and over budget.