Taking giant steel blocks weighing 36 thousand tons on Chernobyl atomic reactor

The network of Euronews on November 15 reported that the move and "capture" of a 36,000-ton steel dome on the No.4 reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant is underway. It is expected that this huge block of steel will last 5 days.

The total cost of making this steel dome is up to 1.5 billion euros. This new steel dome is up to 275 meters long, 162 meters wide, 108 meters high. It will be used for at least 100 years. Its mission is to replace the old dome made of concrete, to prevent radioactive material from leaking and flying out from the No. 4 reactor.

Director of Nuclear Safety of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vince Novak said this is a very complicated job with the participation of Ukraine and many countries in the world for many years.

The No.4 reactor (right) of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine and the new steel dome (left) on April 22.(Photo: AFP / VNA).

Fabricating this steel dome is an unprecedented complex technique and it is projected at the contaminated area. This is the largest movable steel structure on Earth.

More than 30 years ago, at 1:23 am on June 24, 1986, the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located about 100 km from the capital Kiev (Republic of Ukraine, the former Soviet Union). , suddenly exploded.

The Chernobyl disaster became one of the worst civilian nuclear incidents in human history. The dangerous consequence was that during the next 10 days, the reactor erupted toxic radioactively polluting up to three-quarters of Europe. Local officials evacuated about 116,000 people out of the "special area" with a radius of up to 30km from the place of the explosion.

In terms of human damage, the number of deaths caused by the initial explosion and many years later due to radioactivity is still a controversial topic. According to the UN report in 2005 an estimated 4,000 people (mainly in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus today) were killed by the effects of radiation from the Chernobyl disaster.

The new steel dome of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on April 22.(Photo: AFP / VNA).

According to calculations, about 200 tons of uranium in a nuclear reactor exploded 30 years ago. To prevent radioactive material from leaking and coming out of the No.4 reactor, a concrete dome surrounds the reactor. By 2010, concerns about the dome of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were too old and could collapse at any time, Ukraine had begun to build another steel dome to replace the old dome.

This steel dome fabrication is contributed by more than 40 countries and EBRD Bank. In addition, the G7 and the European Council (EC) will contribute about 165 million USD more. This new dome is equipped with many modern technologies to ensure that if anything happens to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this dome is capable of preventing toxic radioactive substances from leaking out.