Antinuclear

Did you think that Chernobyl was safe now? Think again

One particular concern is dismantling the plant’s chimney, which must be taken down before the shelter is put in place. The chimney is lined with radioactive residue that could break up and enter the atmosphere as it is taken apart.

Even when the shelter is in place, the area around the reactor building will remain hazardous. The shelter is aimed only at blocking radioactive material from escaping when the reactor is being dismantled; it won’t block radiation itself.

officials on Tuesday allowed themselves to envision a happier Chernobyl a century from now

Workers raise 1st section of new Chernobyl shelter The Telegraph,  November 27, 2012  By JIM HEINTZ — Associated Press CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UKRAINE — Workers have raised the first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that eventually will cover the exploded nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power station…….

Officials who showed reporters around the construction site Tuesday were clearly delighted at the colossus taking shape before them, but concerned about the challenges ahead. The shelter is to be moved over the reactor building by the end of 2015 – a deadline that no one wants to miss given that the so-called sarcophagus hastily built over the
reactor building after the 1986 explosion has an estimated service life of about 30 years.

The arch now under construction is only one of two segments that will
eventually form the shelter, and so far it’s only been raised to a
height of 22 meters (72 feet). More structural elements have to be
added before it reaches its full height of 108 meters (354 feet), and
the work so far has taken seven months.

“There’s no room for error … the schedule is very tight,” said Vince
Novak, director of the EBRD’s nuclear safety department, who added
that staying within budget is also a concern.

The overall shelter project is budgeted at (EURO)1.54 billion ($2
billion) – (EURO)1 billion ($1.3 billion) of that for the structure
itself – and much uncertainty lies ahead. One particular concern is dismantling the plant’s chimney, which must be taken down before the shelter is put in place. The chimney is lined with radioactive residue that could break up and enter the atmosphere as it is taken apart.
Laurin Dodd, managing director of the shelter project management
group, said some sort of fixative will have to be applied to the
chimney’s interior.

“This is one of the most challenging parts, because it’s an unknown,” he said.

Other possible delays could come if excavations for the shelter’s
foundation uncover radioactive waste or even buried machinery. Dodd
said other excavations unearthed several bulldozers and cranes that
had to be decontaminated.
Even when the shelter is in place, the area around the reactorbuilding will remain hazardous. The shelter is aimed only at blocking radioactive material from escaping when the reactor is being dismantled; it won’t block radiation itself.

But when the dismantling and cleanup work is complete, the radiation
danger will decline. How long that would take is unclear, but
officials on Tuesday allowed themselves to envision a happier Chernobyl a century from now, with the plant’s director speculating
that the huge shelter may even become a tourist attraction.

Read more here:
http://www.macon.com/2012/11/27/2264153/first-section-of-new-shelter-for.html#storylink=cpy

November 28, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized