Chernobyl: project to contain radioactive waste delayed, needs millions of dollars - TomoNews
- 9 years ago
A project to seal off Chernobyl with a massive arch to prevent radioactive material from leaking from the site is facing a facing a €615 million ($686 million) shortfall, according to a report by the German government.
Germany, which currently holds the G7 presidency, is holding a conference today in London at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to discuss how to secure new funding to complete the arch.
The project, which is already a decade behind schedule, had been due for completion this year but now will not be completed until November 2017, according to the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
A concrete and steel sarcophagus currently seals off the radioactive site. Hastily built by the Soviet Union after the Chernobyl disaster, the sarcophagus was supposed to last 30 years but is already in danger of collapsing. Part of the wall and roof of a turbine hall next to the stricken reactor No. 4 collapsed in February 2013.
The arch cannot be built on top of the sarcophagus because radiation levels there are too high. Workers would exceed their annual radiation dose limit after spending 12 minutes on the roof.
One of the largest construction projects in the world, the arch is 108 metres high, 162 metres long and 257 metres wide — taller than the Statue of Liberty and spacious enough to house the Sydney Opera House.
The structure is being built in two halves, which will be assembled 300 metres away from the sarcophagus, a safe distance away from reactor No. 4's extreme radiation. When both halves are complete, actuators will slide them together over the sarcophagus, completely sealing in the damaged reactor.
The arch will only be able to contain the radiation for 100 years.
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Germany, which currently holds the G7 presidency, is holding a conference today in London at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to discuss how to secure new funding to complete the arch.
The project, which is already a decade behind schedule, had been due for completion this year but now will not be completed until November 2017, according to the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
A concrete and steel sarcophagus currently seals off the radioactive site. Hastily built by the Soviet Union after the Chernobyl disaster, the sarcophagus was supposed to last 30 years but is already in danger of collapsing. Part of the wall and roof of a turbine hall next to the stricken reactor No. 4 collapsed in February 2013.
The arch cannot be built on top of the sarcophagus because radiation levels there are too high. Workers would exceed their annual radiation dose limit after spending 12 minutes on the roof.
One of the largest construction projects in the world, the arch is 108 metres high, 162 metres long and 257 metres wide — taller than the Statue of Liberty and spacious enough to house the Sydney Opera House.
The structure is being built in two halves, which will be assembled 300 metres away from the sarcophagus, a safe distance away from reactor No. 4's extreme radiation. When both halves are complete, actuators will slide them together over the sarcophagus, completely sealing in the damaged reactor.
The arch will only be able to contain the radiation for 100 years.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebr