Installation of new entombment for Chornobyl nuclear plant starts

[Hindustani78]

11:51 Nov. 3, 2016

During the next weeks, the confinement will be moved to its place and pre-commissioning activities will start

The new entombment will be placed above ruined Chornobyl nuclear plant until the end of November. The overall cost of the project – EUR 2,1 bln, and the entombment itself costs EUR 1,5 bln. It is constructed by Novarka consortium that unites two French companies – Bouygues and Vincі.

The sarcophagus is 110 meters high, 165 meters long and weighs over 30,000 tons.

To make it safe to work near the nuclear plant, tons of radioactive sand and soil were moved away, and clean soil from other parts of Ukraine was brought. Due to clearing works, the radiation level near the station now is five times higher than at Kyiv downtown. It is almost safe to be there.

The entombment called Arch will roll 300 meters on rails. Inside it will be equipped with cameras and other instruments of controlling the situation. The cranes that move the equipment will be moved remotely.

The 4th reactor that exploded in 1986 is now an open source of radiation. The entombment is to become the first step to protecting the environment from possible leaks. The next extra-complicated task will be burying the radioactive waste. Ukraine still does not have a proper storage facility, and building it could take years.

The Chernobyl disaster, also referred to as the Chernobyl accident, was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 in the No.4 light water graphite moderated reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in what was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union (USSR).

It is the worst catastrophe of the kind that has ever happened. The radioactive cloud covered almost all of Europe. In the aftermath of the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness, of whom 31 died within the first three months. The incident had a vast influence on ecological situation and people's health.

You can read about all the details of the Chornobyl catastrophe in our special project Chornobyl Disaster: Ukraine's Sorrow

 

[Hindustani78]

Unique engineering solutions, enormous size, and stunning building mastery - watch how the cover of the radioactive reactor of ruined Chornobyl nuclear plant is made



The Arch – this is the name of the new safe confinement – will be installed at its place during November. It should work for at least 100 years. Inside, cranes will be placed. They will later be used to dismantle the old sarcophagus. The entombment is 110 meters high, 165 meters long and weighs over 30,000 tons.

Unique engineering solutions, enormous size, and stunning building mastery - watch how the cover of the radioactive reactor of ruined Chornobyl nuclear plant is made

The Arch – this is the name of the new safe confinement – will be installed at its place during November. It should work for at least 100 years. Inside, cranes will be placed. They will later be used to dismantle the old sarcophagus. The entombment is 110 meters high, 165 meters long and weighs over 30,000 tons.

The construction elements are fixed together with 500,000 of bolts. The height of the Arch – 110 meters – is comparable to the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Metal framing and the cover weigh almost 25,000 tons – it is comparable to three Eiffel towers.

Total weight with the cranes exceeds 31,000 tons. This super-heavy construction will be moved on rails, as the company constructs the entombment 250 meters away from the reactor – to protect workers.

Below you can see a picture of confinement cranes compared to a Boeing-777.

The total area of the roof is 86,000 square meters – it is like 12 football fields.

Novarka concern together with Ukrainian builders started to work on this project in 2007. The new confinement is meant to replace the old one, installed in December of 1986. Money for the project has been raised by international donors. European Bank of Reconstruction and Development created a special fund. 45 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, and the USA.

The radioactive cloud covered almost all of Europe. In the aftermath of the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness, of whom 31 died within the first three months. The incident had a vast influence on ecological situation and people's health.

 

[Hindustani78]

Radioactive fallout from the site of the nuclear accident spread across three-quarters of Europe.— Photo: AFP

Chernobyl (Ukraine): November 27, 2016 23:12 IST
Updated: November 27, 2016 23:12 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...obyl-safe-for-generations/article16711797.ece

The arch is as long as two football grounds and is taller than Statue of Liberty

The world’s largest metal moveable structure will be unveiled on Tuesday over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s doomed fourth reactor in Ukraine to ensure the safety of future generations across Europe.

The giant arch — nearly as long as two football grounds and taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty — will edge into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets constructed in haste when disaster struck three decades ago on April 26.

Radioactive fallout from the site of the world’s worst civil nuclear accident contaminated Ukraine and spread across three-quarters of Europe.

Work on the previous safety dome began after a 10-day fire caused by the explosion was contained but as radiation still spewed.

“It was done through the super-human efforts of thousands of ordinary people,” the Chernobyl museum’s deputy chief Anna Korolevska said.

“What kind of protective gear could they have possibly had? They worked in regular construction clothes.”

About 30 of the clean-up workers, known as liquidators, were killed on site or died from overwhelming radiation poisoning in the following weeks.

Death toll uncertain

The toll from the accident caused by errors during an experimental safety check remains under dispute because the Soviet authorities did their best to cover up the tragedy.

Kiev held a May Day parade as invisible contamination spread over the city while then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev only admitted on May 14 that something had gone terribly wrong. A United Nations estimate in 2005 said around 4,000 people had either been killed or were left dying from cancer and other related disease. — AFP

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

The cover has been installed

 

[Louiq XIV]

The cover has been installed

Good job Novarka !

 

[Hindustani78]

http://uatoday.tv/politics/poroshenko-pays-tribute-to-chernobyl-disaster-liquidators-846598.html

President of Ukraine lays flowers at key memorials for Chornobyl heroes in Kyiv


President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko takes part in flower laying ceremony at memorial ‘To Chornobyl Liquidators' and mound ‘To Heroes of Chornobyl' on the Tribute Day of Participants of the Liquidation of the Consequences of Disaster at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

First Vice Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv and first Vice Speaker of Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashenko attended the ceremony. Liquidators of the disaster and relatives of the perished heroes also came to pay their tributes.


The tribute day was established in Ukraine with an aim to mark the dignity, courage, devotion and outstanding professionalism of the participants of liquidation of the consequences of Chernobyl disaster. The holiday was established in 2006.

 

[somebozo]

impressive engineering feat..