The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, will be permanently closed on Dec. 15, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma announced today. President Clinton, who is currently visiting Ukraine, said the U.S. will provide $78 million to help contain radiation at the Chernobyl site as well as $2 million for safety measures at other nuclear power plants in Ukraine. Kuchma is seeking additional funding from the U.S. and other industrialized nations to help defray the estimated $1.2 billion cost of constructing new nuclear plants to replace the lost power from Chernobyl.
