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Chernobyl: 25 years on

26 April 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Since the 1986 explosion, Ukraine and the international community have been working on overcoming the legacy of the accident and converting Chernobyl into a safe and secure site.

Recognising the magnitude of the task, the international community has supported Ukraine continuously in efforts to find solutions for Chernobyl.

In 1997, the G7 group of countries tasked the EBRD with managing the New Safe Confinement structure and Spent Fuel Storage Facility funds for Chernobyl.

After the shutdown of the last operating reactor in Chernobyl in 2000, today two major technical tasks remain to be accomplished: The first is to make the destroyed unit 4 environmentally safe. The second is to safely and securely store the spent nuclear fuel from reactors 1-3.

New Safe Confinement

The plan to make the site of the 1986 accident safe is funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which is managed by the EBRD on behalf of the G7.

This involves building a new structure, known as New Safe Confinement, which will be slid over the shelter of unit 4 to allow for the future decommissioning of the damaged reactor.

Its construction is an unparalleled project in the history of engineering.

With a height of more than 100 metres it would be big enough to house the Statue of Liberty.

The structure will have a span of 257 metres, a length of 164 metres, a height of 110 metres and a weight of 29,000 tonnes.

To date, the Fund has received €864 million from 30 donors. The international donor community is expected to announce further financial commitments towards the project at a pledging conference in Kiev on 19 April 2011.

The Interim Storage Facility 2

The Interim Storage Facility 2 is essential to the mission to make Chernobyl safe. It provides safe and secure storage of the spent nuclear fuel generated when the plant was operational.

Funding of the Interim Storage Facility 2 is provided through a separate fund known as the Nuclear Safety Account, which is also managed by the EBRD. To date it has received €321 million from 17 donors.

Spent fuel is currently stored at the site in an interim wet storage facility constructed in Soviet times (ISF‑1) and in pools in the units.

This facility does not conform to modern standards and it appears unlikely that its current licence would be extended when it expires in 2016, making the creation of a viable alternative storage facility vitally important work.

Chernobyl website

Chernobyl factsheet (904KB - PDF)

Chernobyl brief (475KB - PDF)

Nuclear safety

Thomas Mirow, EBRD President, talks about the Chernobyl project

Statement by Hans Blix, Chairman of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund

Last updated 23 February 2011