Photo from twitter.com/apukraine
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced on the 31st anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster that a new Safe Confinement Sarcophagus over the ruined nuclear power plant is to be commissioned in November 2017.
"I'd like to thank our international partners. The new safe confinement has already capped the old sarcophagus," Poroshenko said at an official event on Wednesday, April 26, which was also attended by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Neighboring Belarus also suffered from the nuclear accident.
Read alsoUkraine marks 31st anniversary of Chornobyl tragedy (Photo)Poroshenko recalled that the world's largest moveable land-based facility, a new Safe Confinement Sarcophagus, built by JV NOVARKA, slid over a distance of 327 meters to its final resting place, having safely enclosed the damaged fourth Chornobyl nuclear reactor on November 20, 2016.
"In November 2017, this confinement is planned to be put into operation," he said. "It should protect us, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the next hundred years," he said.
"This is one of the most ambitious engineering projects in human history. More than 40 donor countries have united around a noble goal – to protect humanity from the 'radioactive' consequences of the tragedy. This is another proof of priority of environmental safety in the world's policy," the president said.
The total cost of the new safety shield is EUR 1.5 billion. The arch is more than 350 feet high and 500 feet long. It weighs 36,000 tonnes. It is 3.5 times heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, and can hide the New-York-based Statue of Liberty. The arch is designed to create a leak-tight barrier to contain radioactive substances for at least the next 100 years. It was developed by NOVARKA, a 50/50 joint venture formed by VINCI CONSTRUCTION and BOUYGUES TRAVAUX PUBLICS. The new arched structure has been under construction since 2012. On November 14, 2016, the company started the process of the installation of the facility.
The completion of the facility was scheduled for the end of 2016, it is to be commissioned in 2017 after all required tests have been conducted, Director of Chornobyl nuclear power plant Ihor Hramotkin said in April 2016.
In May 2016, the Group of Seven (G7) member states confirmed their readiness to cooperate with Ukraine to eliminate the aftermath of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
According to archive data, at 01:23 on April 26, 1986, a reactor at power unit 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was completely destroyed in a series of thermal explosions. A significant amount of radioactive substances was released into the environment. The accident is regarded as the largest of its kind in the history of nuclear energy, both in terms of victims and the economic losses.
After the Chornobyl disaster, 116,000 people were evacuated from the affected areas, while another 230,000 people were resettled from the contaminated zone, later called the Exclusion Zone. A total of 167,653 victims died, including 2,929 cleanup workers; 83% of victims, including 92% of the emergency response team, are suffering from various diseases.