  We present an analysis of the quantum fluctuations around the electroweak
sphaleron and calculate the associated determinant which gives the 1--loop
correction to the sphaleron transition rate. The calculation differs in various
technical aspects from a previous analysis by Carson et al. so that it can be
considered as independent. The numerical results differ also -- by several
orders of magnitude -- from those of this previous analysis; we find that the
sphaleron transition rate is much less suppressed than found previously.
