Official: Chernobyl safe after structure collapse

Kiev (Ukraine), Feb 18 (AP) An official says a recent roof collapse at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has posed no danger and that work on building a new, safer shelter over the exploded reactor should resume within days. A part of a wall and roof collapsed at the turbine hall of the fourth power block at the plant last week. But Oleksandr Novikov, a top official at Ukraine's National Agency, says the shelter built shortly after the 1986 disaster to contain radiation emanating from the exploded reactor was not affected and that radiation levels stayed within the normal range. He says work will soon resume on the giant new arch-shaped shelter being built. The 1986 Chernobyl accident forced the evacuation of 115,000 people and a large area directly around the plant remains largely off-limits. (AP) SAI 02182220 NNNN