Under the sarcophagus there are chaes. photo facts. A new sarcophagus was installed over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Chernobyl sarcophagus

In November 2016, an event occurred at the shutdown Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was described by almost all the media in the world. A hundred-meter arch was erected over the concrete sarcophagus, under which the 4th power unit destroyed by the explosion has been resting since 1986. It protects the sarcophagus from rain, snow and wind and should allow work to dismantle the destroyed power unit to begin in the future. It would seem that the goal was achieved. But a year and a half later, the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine (SINR) reported that the new protection has not yet been put into operation. Is this dangerous for people’s health and lives, and when will the project, for which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development allocated 2.1 billion euros, finally be completed?

What means" commissioning"Safety arches?

In hazardous areas of the Shelter facility, it is allowed to work from 10 to 30 minutes. In some places you can work for up to an hour, say SINR engineers. Today at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant a control level of annual radiation dose of up to 14 millisieverts (mSv) has been established. Of these, 13 mSv is external exposure, and 1 mSv is internal.

“In some cases,” explains Natalia Rybalka, “Ukrainian legislation allows for an increase in permissible exposure levels to be agreed with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Some of the personnel at the facility today receive individually permissible doses of up to 30-35 mSv per year.”

“With increased radiation, it is necessary to change workers more often,” states Irina Golovko. According to her, at the beginning of this year there were not enough personnel to complete work on the protective arch, and therefore the deadline for putting the facility into operation was again postponed. In March, at a meeting of the public council at the State Inspectorate of the State Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Ukraine, it was announced that the general contractor of the work, Novarka JV, had begun additional mobilization of personnel.

Nevertheless, Tamara Sushko admits that it will not be possible to commission the arch on time. “We planned to complete the project at the end of May. But the issue of completing the project in September or even by the end of this year is being considered,” says the engineer.

See also:

• Exclusion Zone

  After the Chernobyl accident, there was a need for control in the territories that were subject to the greatest radioactive contamination - these are the cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat. A 30-kilometer zone around the station was closed to public access. Today, Chernobyl is home to the enterprise for managing the exclusion zone, and up to 2,800 personnel from the enterprises building the arch for the sarcophagus also live there.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

In the 1970s, construction of the first nuclear power plant in Ukraine began in the Chernobyl region. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is located 3 km from the city of Pripyat and 18 km from the city of Chernobyl. It produced a tenth of the electricity in the Ukrainian SSR. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was completely shut down only at the end of 2000. Work continues now on the construction of a new insulating structure above the fourth power unit.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

Chernobyl is the administrative center of the exclusion zone

Before the accident, 12.5 thousand people lived in Chernobyl, all of them were evacuated a few days after the tragedy. At the moment, the city is included in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone, being its administrative center. The personnel of the enterprises located here live in abandoned apartment buildings. When crossing the boundaries of the exclusion zone, everyone is required to undergo radiation monitoring.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

Arch - a new shelter for the sarcophagus

More than 600 thousand people took part in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident. Their main task was to build a concrete sarcophagus for the 4th power unit. Under the influence of external factors and radiation, the old shelter began to collapse, which is dangerous - about 200 tons of radioactive substances are still stored there. The new arched structure should cover the sarcophagus and allow its partial dismantling to begin.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

"Samosely" in the exclusion zone

Until now, the concentration of radionuclides in the exclusion zone is high, which does not allow restrictions on living there to be lifted. However, soon after the accident and evacuation, local residents began to return to their homes under various pretexts. These people were called “self-settlers.” Today there are about 180 people in the zone: 80 in Chernobyl and about 100 more in villages located in the 30-kilometer zone.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

Food truck twice a month

Mostly “self-settlers” are elderly people. They now live in four villages within the 30-kilometer exclusion zone. “Self-settlers” grow vegetables and fruits, pick mushrooms in the forest and drink water from wells. Among the benefits of civilization, they only have electricity. A food truck with bread and cereals arrives twice a month, and once a month the postman delivers pensions.

• Secret object "Duga-1"

  The secret facility "Duga-1" is a Soviet-era radar station designed to detect launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. "Duga-1" never fully entered combat duty. The dimensions of the structure of many antennas are 700 m in length and 150 m in height. After the Chernobyl accident, the facility was mothballed, and later its main elements were dismantled and removed.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

"Bucket of Death"

The so-called “bucket of death” is one of the current attractions of the city of Pripyat. The ladle was used to eliminate the consequences of the accident directly at the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The radiation from the bucket (even a few meters from it) exceeds the norm by ten thousand times. It is forbidden to touch it.

Dead ground

Pripyat was supposed to become the most beautiful, exemplary city of Soviet Ukraine. But it went down in history as a city-monument to the worst nuclear disaster in the world. At the moment, in Pripyat there are only a special laundry, a station for fluoridation and iron removal of water, and a garage for Chernobyl NPP special equipment. Not a single person lives in the city.



Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy

Extreme tourism zone

Every year, the exclusion zone is visited by several thousand extreme tourists. Before the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russian citizens were the leaders among foreign tourists. Today most of the guests are from Poland, the Czech Republic and the USA.

(4 ratings, average: 3,00 out of 5)

What is the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Sarcophagus project?

After the well-known 1986 accident, radiation struck a 30-kilometer zone around itself in terrifying doses. Everything suffered: from people to a blade of grass on the ground. We are still seeing echoes of the explosion of the fourth reactor - an increase in cancer, huge fish, myths about five-headed werewolves.

At the time of the explosion, no one knew what such a large release of radiation into the environment could result in, so the government ordered the construction of a shelter around the fourth reactor - the Sarcophagus at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Chernobyl NPP Sarcophagus project was completed in the same year, 1986, in just 206 days, and already in November the exploded reactor was covered and isolated inside the Chernobyl NPP Sarcophagus. Almost 100 thousand people were involved in the implementation of the Sarcophagus project at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

It is worth noting that the Chernobyl NPP Sarcophagus did not get its name right away. In order to build the Sarcophagus over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 7 thousand tons of metal structures and 400 thousand cubic meters of concrete mixture were required. And in order for the territory to be completely disinfected, more than 90 thousand cubic meters of soil were removed. At first, the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was simply called the Shelter.

Let's talk a little more about how the Chernobyl Sarcophagus was built. As already mentioned, thousands, namely 90 thousand people were involved in the construction of the Shelter; they were mobilized from different parts of the state. Shifts at the construction site were organized on a rotational basis. A shift of ten thousand people worked around the clock on the construction of the Sarcophagus. It’s scary to just imagine how many human lives remain under the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

At first, the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant consisted of walls on the northern and southwestern sides, which separated the exploded one from the third power unit. It is interesting that from the north the wall was made in the form of a cascade, consisting of concrete ledges (each twelve meters). This wall buried all the waste containers that were highly active.

In order to cover the damaged reactor from above, metal beams were used. They were laid crosswise, and pipes made of the same metal were laid on top for strengthening. The diameter of each pipe was more than one meter and the length was 35 meters. For complete protection, the Sarcophagus was covered with a roof made of profiled flooring. As a result of these actions, the operation of the fourth power unit was completely mothballed.

In parallel with the construction of the Shelter, work was carried out to disinfect the area near the reactor. By doing this, workers achieved a reduction in the radiation dose at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Since 2013, the Chernobyl Sarcophagus photo section on the Internet and the media has been replenished with new footage, which shows that the slabs hanging over the machine room have collapsed. As a result, several hundred square meters of the Sarcophagus were damaged. Although the government claims that all protection remains in order and no leakage is occurring, it was nevertheless decided to build a new Sarcophagus over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This is explained by the fact that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is covered with a lead Sarcophagus, where more than two hundred tons of active radionuclides are stored, and its protection needs to be improved.

As part of the Chernobyl Sarcophagus project, a new facility - Shelter-2 - was accepted back in 2003. Initially, the project was supposed to be completed in the year when the collapse happened, that is, in 2013. But, as always happens, there was a shortage of finances, and the construction of the second Sarcophagus over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was stopped. The government claims that this is not a reason to say that the new Chernobyl Sarcophagus will not be built, and promises to fully complete construction in 2017.

When the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is covered with a Sarcophagus, it is planned that the new Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Sarcophagus will provide the most reliable protection of everything around it from radiation and will be able to provide access to the damaged elements of the old Shelter. This is necessary in order to finally repair the collapses that have already occurred and prevent new ones. Also, the new Sarcophagus, which received the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, will no longer leak radioactive substances. Previously, leaks could have occurred due to the fact that the door to the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in real life allowed melt water and rain to access dangerous compounds.

What is the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Sarcophagus?

We would like to describe a little the characteristics of the new Sarcophagus so that you can compare them with how the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shown in the photo.

The new Sarcophagus at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was planned to be built in the shape of an arch. The height of this arch should reach 108 meters, while the width of the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant should be no less than 250 meters. If you measure the length that the new structure will have, it will be at least 150 meters. The approximate weight of all metal structures reaches almost 30 tons.

The number of employees working on the construction of the Sarcophagus is much less this time than during the USSR (3 thousand people). Perhaps this is explained by the fact that mobilization on such a large scale for such a dangerous event is impossible in a democratic state.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

How much does the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant cost?

In order for the Sarcophagus to serve for more than 70 years, the state, VINCI Construction Grand Projects and other subsidiary corporations have already invested more than two billion dollars in the construction of the Shelter.

But not only large sums were needed to install a new Shelter over the fourth power unit, but also the sharp minds of the engineers and people who are involved in its construction. It even took foreign forces to carry out the plan.

The fact is that during the explosion, a pipe was stuck in the structure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was intended for ventilation of the third and fourth power units. It had to be removed in order to continue construction, but not everything was so simple. This pipe was very massive. Its weight reached 350 tons, and its height was 150 meters.

To solve the problem, the builders needed a crane capable of lifting very heavy loads, and since such cranes are not produced in Ukraine, they had to order it from Italy. Costing nearly twelve million dollars, this crane is capable of handling loads weighing up to 1,600 tons. He helped divide the pipe into six parts, and then pulled each one out separately. All parts of the pipe were buried in the premises of the third power unit.

But not all nuclear physicists and engineers agree that the Sarcophagus will be able to reliably protect an exploded power unit. Some scientists say that even though a new Sarcophagus will be built at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, there will still be a possibility of radiation leakage, since all the contents inside the Sarcophagus are still radioactive. They explain their conclusions by the fact that our engineering has not yet reached the stage when a Sarcophagus built using these technologies will be able to perform the functions assigned to it. In reality, only a containment can provide complete protection, but the country currently has neither the ability nor the means to install it.

Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant among people

Having learned about the plan to build a Shelter over the fourth power unit, people began to actively wonder when the Sarcophagus was planned to be covered at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Today, everyone is interested in the question of whether a Sarcophagus is needed if it cannot reliably protect us, and how to get the government to agree to the construction of a containment shell. But no one can give answers to these questions; one can only make assumptions.

Others think that mutants, victims of the Chernobyl accident, who would become a shame and fear for the entire country, are kept in the Sarcophagus. Especially the second thought is held by stalkers, people who play the computer game of the same name S.T.A.L.K.E.R. This is a game developed by a Ukrainian company, and the final destination of the game is the Sarcophagus.

Electric train past the Sarcophagus

Every day the train travels past the Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which still carries people to work. This train has its own culture: no one can take the place of another, everyone is already accustomed to the unspoken seating positions. This train carries exclusively station workers, but we think many tourists would like to get on it to experience the atmosphere of their work.

The government promises to complete the construction of the new Sarcophagus by 2018. They still have time to fulfill their promises, and we have time to see how they do it: tours to Chernobyl are available to everyone today.

Work on the construction of a new protective structure over the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ivankovsky district, Kyiv region).

Due to the large size of the arch, it had to be built in two parts and then moved together.

The arch was installed using a special system, which consists of 224 hydraulic jacks and allows the structure to be moved a distance of 60 cm in one cycle.

The protective structure, the “New Safe Confinement,” is supposed to isolate the building of the emergency Chernobyl power unit, which was damaged in 1986 as a result of the largest disaster in the history of nuclear energy.

The new sarcophagus will not be the final solution to the problem - it should just provide protection for the emergency unit for at least another 100 years.

How did the Chernobyl disaster happen?

• On April 26, 1986, a strong explosion and fire occurred at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during scheduled tests.
• The reactor core was completely destroyed, the power unit building partially collapsed, and there was a significant release of radioactive materials into the environment.
• At the time of the emergency, two people died, about 600 people from among the station personnel and firefighters received high doses of radiation (28 of them died within a year).
• More than 200 thousand square meters were exposed to radioactive contamination. km of USSR territory.

How and why did the first sarcophagus appear?

• From July to November 1986, the “Shelter” object was built on the territory of the station - a concrete sarcophagus with a height of more than 50 m and external dimensions of 200x200 m, covering the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
• The installation of the Shelter made it possible to stop the release of radioactive elements into the atmosphere.

What's inside the Shelter?

• Inside the “Shelter” there is at least 95% of irradiated nuclear fuel from the destroyed reactor, including about 180 tons of uranium-235, as well as about 70 thousand tons of radioactive metal, concrete, glassy mass, several tens of tons of radioactive dust with a total activity of more than 2 million curies

What is the disadvantage of the old sarcophagus and why is a new one needed?

• The main disadvantage of the sarcophagus is its leakage: the total area of ​​the cracks reaches 1 thousand square meters. m.
• The period of guaranteed operation of the Shelter was initially calculated until 2006.
• In 2004-2008, the Shelter structures were strengthened, guaranteeing the stability of the facility until 2018.
• On February 12, 2013, the hanging slabs above the turbine room of the power unit collapsed, which did not lead to a significant increase in background radiation in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant area.
• Later, the Shelter's operational life was extended until 2023.
• Back in 1997, at a meeting of the G7 countries, a plan was adopted for implementing activities at the Shelter facility to ensure its environmental safety. The parties agreed on the need to build a new protective structure over the old sarcophagus. The object was named “New Safe Confinement” (NSC; from the English confinement - “holding”, “conclusion”).

Who financed the construction of the new sarcophagus and how much did it cost?

• To finance the construction of the NSC and other works, the Chernobyl Shelter Fund was established, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The fund is replenished through periodic or one-time contributions from more than 40 countries, as well as the European Union and the EBRD itself. By April 2016, the total amount of contributions to the fund was €1 billion 400 million.
• The total cost of completing the project, of which the construction of the sarcophagus is an integral part, exceeds €2 billion.
• Russia is one of the fund's donor countries. Its initial contribution amounted to €45 million (listed in 2011-2012). Later, the Russian government decided to transfer €10 million as an additional contribution in 2016-2017 (€5 million annually).
• The contract for the design and construction of the NSC was signed on August 10, 2007. The NSC must provide protection for the emergency unit for at least 100 years. It was planned that from 2017 Ukraine itself would pay for the maintenance of the facility, but the project is still receiving international funding.

Who manages the project and who implements it?

• The NSC project is managed by the Ukrainian State Specialized Enterprise "Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant" together with the American companies Bechtel International Systems and Battelle Memorial Institute.
• The construction contractor is the Novarka consortium (comprising the French companies Vinci Construction Grand Projects and Bouygues Travaux Publics). Subcontractors: Cimolai (Italy - steel fabrication), PaR Systems (USA - design and manufacture of the main crane system) and Okyanus (Turkey - design, delivery and installation of cladding).

What is the new sarcophagus?

• The NSC includes the main arched structure (height - 109 m, length - more than 160 m, span width - 257 m, weight - more than 31 thousand tons; the largest mobile structure in history), a technological building with decontamination areas, sanitary checkpoints, workshops etc., as well as auxiliary structures.
• The NSC design includes foundations and a platform for the installation area (total - 81 thousand sq. m of reinforced concrete covering), 400 steel and 400 concrete piles, steel structures with a total weight of 24 thousand 860 tons, external multilayer cladding with a total area of ​​86 thousand sq. m. m, etc.
• It was decided to install the arched structure at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site at a distance from the Shelter object, so as not to expose workers to radiation, and then slide it onto the structures of the emergency power unit.

How did the construction of the new sarcophagus proceed?

• In 2008-2011, preparatory work was carried out: cleaning and planning the territory, arrangement of pits and an installation site for assembling the arches of the main structure. Concrete plants and a high-voltage line for them, a construction laboratory, offices, repair shops, first-aid posts, etc. were put into operation.
• In January 2009, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a law on a national program for decommissioning the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and transforming the Shelter facility into an environmentally friendly system. The law came into force on January 1, 2010. The priority measures planned for 2009-2012 included the removal of spent nuclear fuel from the first and third power units of the station and its transfer to storage, as well as the construction of the NSC.
• In 2012, the design of the NSC was completed.
• In 2013, using a super-heavy crane, a ventilation pipe weighing about 330 tons, common to the third and fourth power units, was dismantled, which prevented the arch from being installed in its working position. A new pipe was installed at a safe distance.
• In 2014, away from the fourth power unit, the installation of the eastern and western parts of the arch was completed. In December of the same year, builders began erecting the end walls of the NSC.
• In July-October 2015, the western and eastern parts of the arch were connected.
• In October 2016, the construction of the NSC end walls was completed, and the arch metal structures were installed (30 thousand 552 tons). From November 14 to November 29, 2016, the arch was moved onto the building of the emergency power unit.
• After installing the arch, work was carried out on sealing and installation of auxiliary premises and equipment. It was expected that the NSC would be put into pilot operation in November 2017, but the installation of various technical systems (ventilation, cranes, power supply, fire safety, radiation control, etc.) took longer than originally planned. As a result, the arch's delivery deadlines were repeatedly pushed back.
• On March 15, 2018, the press service of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management announced the installation of a hermetic membrane on the new sarcophagus, which will ensure “the radiation safety of the Shelter object for 100 years.”

What happens after installing a new sarcophagus?

• Under the protection of the NSC, it is planned in the future to extract radioactive materials from the Shelter object and “transfer them to a controlled state,” that is, to ensure safe storage.
• Guides for remote-controlled overhead cranes are mounted under the ceiling of the arch. With their help, it is planned to dismantle the structures of the old “Shelter”.
• Methods for extracting radioactive fuel are currently being developed. In 2016, the deadline for completing the cleanup of the remains of the fourth power unit and the station’s territory from radioactive contamination was set to 2065.

The material was prepared using TASS-Dossier data

The first sarcophagus, the Shelter object, was erected over the fourth block destroyed by the reactor explosion at the cost of the lives and health of 90 thousand workers in record time - 206 days from the moment of the accident and was put into operation in November 1986. This was done to prevent the spread of radioactive elements throughout the world. After all, according to scientists, 80% of the radioactive elements contained in the reactor still remain under the sarcophagus.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant sarcophagus is designed to last 30 years

The Shelter object was initially supposed to be only a temporary solution to the problem of the spread of radioactive substances - its service life was designed for 30 years.

But what does the Chernobyl Sarcophagus hide inside?

Under the sarcophagus there are many rooms and chambers. Some of them were created after the accident to service the sarcophagus and carry out all kinds of measurements and research - as a rule, they are separated from the destroyed reactor hall by thick concrete walls through which radiation does not penetrate. The other part of the rooms are the former premises of the Fourth Power Unit. I managed to penetrate into some of them only in the early nineties; I came across descriptions of these rooms - “leaning ceilings, traces of soot on the walls, furniture moved from the explosion, a thick layer of dust on all objects, background radiation of about 2 roentgens per hour.” And we still haven’t been able to get into the third rooms (especially those rooms located under the reactor hall); no one knows what’s happening there now.

Reactor hall of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant:

And the reactor hall itself looks something like this. The photo shows a concrete reactor cover, which was thrown up by an explosion in 1986, and fell back in this position. The tubes protruding from the cover are the so-called fuel assemblies, and the cone-shaped elements on top are monitor sensors for monitoring radiation levels.

Dosimetrists under the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant:

Dosimetrist Alexander Kupny and his colleagues more than once descended under the rubble of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The radiation levels there are high. Protective suits and masks must be worn. You cannot stay in the sarcophagus for a long time. This can cause great harm to health. But in any case, you need to check the condition of the Shelter.

Fuel masses under the Chernobyl Sarcophagus

After the accident, about 80% of the fuel masses remained under the Shelter, which have a high radioactive background. In 1986, all this was filled with concrete and lead. This is how everything has remained to this day.

The consortium of French construction companies "Novarka" on Tuesday, November 29, completed the installation of a new safe confinement (NSC) - a sarcophagus arch that should protect the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, destroyed during the disaster in 1986. According to Interfax, according to the project, the service life of this structure is expected to last 100 years and cost 1.5 billion euros.

“We welcome the completion of this phase of the Chernobyl Shelter transformation as a symbol of what we can achieve together through strong, determined and long-term efforts. We applaud our Ukrainian partners and contractor, and thank all donors to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund whose contributions have made today's success possible "This spirit of cooperation gives us confidence that the project will be completed on time and within budget in one year," President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti said at the ceremony, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was not left out of work either, declaring that the “Russian threat” is worse than the Chernobyl disaster. “No one could have imagined that the Chernobyl test would not be the worst and not the most terrible that Ukraine would have to endure. And that Ukraine is building an arch and safe confinement in war conditions, when it is defending itself from Russian aggression,” Poroshenko said.

Work on the construction of the new sarcophagus is financed by a special fund managed by the EBRD on behalf of international donors, the largest of which is the European Union, which has currently allocated 750 million euros for Chernobyl projects.

Today, the ceremony was attended by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Deputy President of the European Commission for the Energy Union Maros Šefčović, EC Member for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, EC Member for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica and EC Member for climate and energy Miguel Arias Cañete.

It is reported that all NSC systems are planned to be tested until November 2017, after which the arch will be put into operation. Next, Ukraine will have to dismantle the unstable structures and remove fuel-containing materials in order to turn the nuclear power plant into an environmentally friendly facility.

However, today the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Nezalezhny Ostap Semerak told reporters that Kyiv will ask international partners to provide assistance in dismantling the damaged power unit. “I would like to say that we expect technical support, scientific support, technical support in dismantling the fourth power unit,” he said, noting that it will be difficult for Ukraine to cope with such a task on its own.

In the fall of 2015, the Bouygues and Vinci companies, members of the consortium, completed the preliminary assembly of the arched sarcophagus, then it was disassembled and delivered to the station, where it was reassembled in a clean area near the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and, using a special system, was “pushed” onto the object.

According to Bouygues, the arch is larger than the Stade de France in Paris and weighs five times more than the Eiffel Tower. The height of the new sarcophagus reaches the level of approximately a 30-story building - 110 m, the length of the structure is 165 m, and the weight is 36.2 thousand tons.

The body of the arch will be covered with a special casing, which will protect the old sarcophagus from external influences and will serve as protection for the environment and the population. The building will also be equipped with a high-tech ventilation system and a temperature and humidity control system.

Let us recall that on April 26, 1986, the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. During the first three months after the accident, about 30 people died. Almost 8.4 million residents of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were exposed to radioactive radiation. A so-called 30-kilometer exclusion zone was created around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, from which two cities - Pripyat and Chernobyl, as well as 74 villages - were completely evacuated.

The first sarcophagus (“Shelter”) over the emergency power unit was erected shortly after the explosion, but in recent years the structure began to collapse.