Chernobyl ‘sarcophagus’ built to contain radiation from 1986 explosion at risk of collapse

Experts have claimed there is a “very high” probability the 16,000,000 lbs 14,000,000 cubic ft block used to contain the structure will cave in under the sheer volume of its colossal weight. As a result, the Ukrainian firm in charge of maintaining the former Soviet Union power plant has signed a £64million contract to resolve the issue by the year 2023. Work will involve the company unravelling the work of 600,000 USSR workers who encased the explosion in 1986, with the event itself being one factor in the fall of the Soviet Union five years later in 1991.

A replacement “sarcophagus” was unveiled in July costing £2billion.

SSE Chernobyl NPP, the company that manages the plant, said sections of the structure will be reinforced to maintain its overall stability.

The company also said cranes will be used and old materials will be decontaminated and destroyed.

Serhii Kalashnyk, acting director general for the firm, said: “This is the next logical step resulting from our work carried out for the latest 12 years.

 

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A replacement “sarcophagus” was unveiled in July costing £2billion (Image: GETTY)

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Experts have claimed there is a “very high” probability it will collapse (Image: GETTY)

“The contractor has simultaneously to disassemble Shelter and to reinforce it as the removal of every element will increase the risk of Shelter collapse, that in turn will cause the release of large amounts of radioactive material.”

The original concrete structure locked in 200 tonnes of radioactive corium, 30 tonnes of highly contaminated dust and 16 tonnes of uranium and plutonium.

In 1996, experts said the structure had deteriorated so badly it would be impossible to repair.

Radiation was as high as 10,000 röntgens per hour compared to the normal dose in busy cities, which is between 30-50 per hour.

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The lethal dose of radiation is 500 röntgens over five hours (Image: GETTY)

The lethal dose is 500 röntgens over five hours, which is why first responders and fire fighters died following the incident.

The New Safe Confinement (NSC) project that was completed this year protects against the release of radioactive substances from Chernobyl into the atmosphere.

On April 26, 1986, in the early hours of the morning, reactor four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, spilling masses of radiation into the air.

The explosion was the result of a failed safety test, human error and a design flaw within the reactor itself.

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Today eerie decaying buildings stand in Pripyat, the city that houses the Chernobyl (Image: GETTY)

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There are those who participated in clean up operations and were exposed to radiation (Image: GETTY)

Today eerie decaying buildings stand in Pripyat, the city that houses the Chernobyl Power Plant.

The area itself remains too radioactive to return to.

One of the most iconic images of Chernobyl is the yellow ferris wheel, untouched and rusted in the 33 years since the disaster.

The total number of casualties from the incident remains a disputed figure, with 134 servicemen hospitalised, of whom 28 firemen and employees died within months.

Additionally, approximately 14 radiation-induced cancer deaths among this group of 134 hospitalised survivors occurred within the next 10 years.

There are those who participated in clean up operations and were exposed to radiation, with an estimated 600,000 “liquidators” recruited or conscripted from all over the Soviet Union.

However, records of these workers were not kept, and some of those involved with the cleanup efforts have asserted that several thousand liquidators died as a result of their job.

source: express.co.uk