Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Nuclear Street Update: Video Documents Raising of New Confinement Structure at Chernobyl

Video Documents Raising of New Confinement Structure at Chernobyl

With a target completion date of 2015, a project to cover the entombed Chernobyl no. 4 reactor has made significant progress in the last few years. This video shows how the enormous New Safe Confinement structure was lifted during multiple stages of assembly.

Project Highlights:

•At 541 feet long, 853 feet across and 360 feet high, it will be tall enough to house Paris' Notre Dame cathedral. •It will weigh more than 33,000 tons, supported by a lattice of tubular steel on two longitudinal concrete beams.

•The structure will be strong enough to withstand a tornado when it is finally slid over the existing sarcophagus.

•It will house a sophisticated ventilation system and cranes for dismantling and waste management.

•The contract to build the structure was awarded in 2007 to the Novarka consortium, led by the Bouygues and Vinci companies of France.

•It is funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund established in 1997. Forty one individual countries (including the U.S.), the European Community and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had contributed more than $1.5 billion to the fund as of mid-2013. View Video>>>> 

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