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Stabilisation works at Chernobyl successfully completed
Western wall and roof of shelter stabilised by new structures
With the stabilisation of the western wall of reactor 4, a milestone in
enhancing the safety of the Chernobyl shelter has been achieved. In April
1986, reactor 4 was the site of the worst accident in the history of the
civilian use of nuclear power. After the explosion the reactor was covered
with a temporary shelter which for two decades has been in a critical state.
In the 1990s the international community together with Ukraine developed the
Shelter Implementation Plan to transfer reactor 4 into a stable and
environmentally safe system. The programme provides for two major steps: the
stabilisation of the shelter and, subsequently, the construction of the New
Safe Confinement, a large arch-shaped construction which will enclose the
shelter and its radioactive contents.
The stabilisation programme included the construction of external structures
stabilising the western wall and the roof of the existing shelter. At the
final stages, the weight of the roof of the shelter was partially transferred
to the new structure.
In addition, the programme also included extremely challenging tasks inside
the shelter such as the installation of new structural supports in the
de-aerator stack. Due to the high radiation in some workplaces and in line
with strict radiation protection requirements more than 2,500 workers were
employed during the project which lasted for 18 months.
The project was carried out by a consortium led by the Russian company
Atomstroyexpert. It was financed by the EBRD-managed Chernobyl Shelter Fund
and will cost close to $50 million. After the successful stabilisation only
minor works remain to be done before the closure of the contract in spring
2007. The stabilisation of the Western Wall represents the largest
internationally-funded completed project at Chernobyl site to-date.
The Chernobyl Shelter Fund was set up at the EBRD in 1997. Member countries
are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Community, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxemburg, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and
the United States. Iceland, Israel, Korea, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and
Slovenia have made donations.
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