Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project Essay

Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project - Essay Example ged upon. Due to this, the project which will be proposed blurs the lines between economic development, and environmental recovery. Background: Although it has been over 25 years since the explosion that led to the release of radioactive matter at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union (currently Ukraine), the fact of the matter is that the area in and around the release is still highly toxic. This is of course due to the fact that the radioactive material that was released into the air, and ultimately into the ground and water supply, has determinate â€Å"half lives† which means it will remain for quite some time into the future. After the disaster which spilled toxic radioactive waste into the atmosphere and ruptured the poorly built Soviet containment system, the engineers of the time decided that the best way to remediate the situation would merely to be close the reactor that had experienced the disaster and move refocus electrical generation needs on the remain ing reactors of the Chernobyl power plant (Voitsekhovich 1016). Although such an approach has definitely worked for a period of nearly 30 years, the fact of the matter is that the untouched and un-remediated reactor that initially ruptured lies untouched and continues to leak radioactive matter into the ground, the air, and the water table. Influences to the Project: Due to the fact that Ukraine, once a part of the former Soviet Union, has a robust engineering and construction sector with a skilled and talented workforce to draw upon, the extent to which well qualified individuals available to work on such a situation exists is not in question. Moreover, due to the fact that few environmental or labor laws define the current system that is evidenced with regards to construction and engineering projects within Ukraine, it can readily be seen that few roadblocks to such a remediation project will be likely to be realized either. An additional point that bears mention is the fact that the northern reaches of the nation of Ukraine, specifically where Chernobyl is situated, can experience moderate to severe winters where ice and snow can become a major impediment to construction or the delivery of key supplies and personnel to the building site as a function of poorly maintained and insufficient roads and transportation systems. With regards to the cultural and language differential that must be engaged upon, this is an aspect of project planning that cannot be understated (Toru Oka 999). Due to the fact that the Ukrainian language is unique and only tangentially related to its closest linguistic cousin – Russian – it is the understanding of this student that a great deal of time, effort, planning, and money will need to go into hiring translators and area experts to integrate with all levels of the workforce, existing infrastructure, and governmental liaisons to the project. Management Strategy: As a function of the previous