KIEV, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine will cover the collapsed roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with special resin to prevent the spread of radioactive dust, a senior nuclear safety official said here Tuesday.

"As soon as the weather permits, we will cover the equipment under the caved-in parts of the roof with special resin," Mikhail Gashev, Ukraine's chief inspector of nuclear and radiation safety, told reporters.

Spraying synthetic resin over the inactive plant's equipment was routine procedure, Gashev said, adding that similar work was carried out annually throughout Chernobyl.

This year, Ukraine would spend 1.5 million U.S. dollars, up from 1.25 million dollars in 2012, to bolster nuclear safety at the plant, Gashev said.

About 600 square meters of the roof at Chernobyl, where an explosion and reactor meltdown occurred in 1986, collapsed in mid-February. Authorities said at the time that the collapse posed no threat to human health.