In the weeks following the explosion, thousands of people risked their lives building a massive concrete 'sarcophagus' around the damaged Reactor Four. This sarcophagus encases the damaged nuclear reactor and was designed to halt the release of further radiation into the atmosphere. However, hastily constructed this structure is now cracking open and leaking out lethal doses of radiation.
Chernobyl Sarcophagus – The end or just the beginning?
Since the accident, Central and Eastern Europe have undergone momentous political changes. The USSR no longer exists. Chernobyl is now the responsibility of the respective governments of each of the affected countries, but the fallout from Chernobyl continues to kill and mar the lives of millions. Despite all the words that have been written about the accident, little has changed for the better. In fact, in many ways the situation is getting worse.
We aren’t finished with Chernobyl. The scientists admit that the sarcophagus which encases the damaged nuclear reactor is now cracking open and leaking out lethal doses of radiation. In 1988 Soviet scientists announced that the sarcophagus was only designed for a lifetime of 20 to 30 years. Holes and fissures in the structure now cover 100 square metres, some of which are large enough to drive a car through. These cracks and holes are further exacerbated by the intense heat inside the reactor, which is still over 200 degrees Celsius. The sarcophagus’s hastily and poorly built concrete walls, which are steadily sinking, act as a lid on the grave of the shattered reactor.
Only 3% of the original nuclear material was expelled in 1986, leaving behind 216 tons of uranium and plutonium still buried inside the exploded reactor, is a chilling reminder that the explosion was not the end, but rather the beginning.
Scientists now agree that this sarcophagus will eventually collapse, and when it does there will be an even greater release of radioactivity than in the initial accident.
Inside the Sarcophagus
There are 740,000 cubic meters of lethally contaminated debris inside the sarcophagus, which is ten times more than was previously thought. Locked inside lies 30 tons of highly contaminated dust, 16 tons of uranium and plutonium and 200 tons of radioactive lava. The rain pours through causing corrosion, the weight of 3,000 cubic meters of water lodging each year further adds to the possibility of the roof caving in.
The result of the water and dust mixing is a dangerous radioactive ‘soup’. When the building became highly radioactive the engineers were unable to physically screw down the nuts and bolts or apply any direct welding of the Sarcophagus, this work was done by robotics, and unfortunately the result is that the seams of the building are not sealed thus allowing water to enter and radiation to escape on a daily basis. The problem of controlling the water and dust inside has never been resolved. This type of project has never been undertaken before and no one knows for sure if it will be effective enough to contain the radioactivity or what will happen in 100 years times.
It took 17 years to get an agreement to rebuild the crumbling sarcophagus at the cost of $1 billion. Chernobyl’s debris will be radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years and must be treated and buried in shallow graves as an urgent priority. In 1998, finally with the help of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a stabilization program was completed which included securing the roof beams from collapsing.
The New Safe Confinement structure
In early 2003 engineers moved towards completing plans for what may be the largest moveable structure ever built, a 20,000 ton steel shell to replace the failed sarcophagus. After construction this structure will be big enough to house the Statue of Liberty. Inside, robotic cranes and, where possible, live workers will then begin the delicate job of prying apart the wreckage and removing the radioactive materials.
A Chernobyl Shelter Fund was established in 1997 at the Denver G8 Summit to finance the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP). The plan calls for transforming the site into an ecologically safe condition by stabilizing the Sarcophagus followed by construction of a New Safe Confinement NSC. While the original cost estimate for the SIP was US$768 million, the 2006 estimate was $1.2 billion and in 2011 the estimate has reached $2.21 billion (€1.6 billion). The SIP is being managed by a consortium of Bechtel, Battelle, and Electricité de France. The conceptual design for the NSC consists of a movable arch, constructed away from the shelter to avoid high radiation, to be slid over the sarcophagus. The NSC originally expected the project to be completed in 2012 but there has been further delays.When completed it will be the largest movable structure ever built.
25 years after the accident, the construction of the New Safe Confinement for destroyed reactor 4 is about to begin and a storage facility for spent fuel from the operations of reactors 1-3 can now be finalised after the Ukrainian regulator has approved the project design. Approval is expected early in 2011. However, funding for the two projects is not yet fully secured. In total, €740 million in additional financing still needs to be raised.
The New Safe Confinement structure will have a span of 257 meters, a length of 164 meters, a height of 110 meters and a weight of 29,000 tons.
says it all if they fail in their mission.
