New grave for Chernobyl power plant

Construction of a giant steel shield covering the troubled reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine began yesterday.

>>> Ukraine celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster

The 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster was conducted yesterday with the participation of President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine. Yanukovych started the project to build a giant dome-shaped shield above the remains of the No. 4 reactor, which triggered disaster. The shield has a volume of 20,000 tons and is up to 105 meters high. As planned, the dome construction process will be completed in 2015, AP said.

"The construction of this shield has the largest scale compared to the same shields in the world," Yanukovych said.

The process of preparing for the construction of a new shield
has been conducted since 2008. (Photo: phys.org)

The President of Ukraine called on every country to be vigilant to the maximum for nuclear energy, and thanked benefactors for donating US $ 980 million to the project to build a new dome and a grain waste bin multiply.

'The Chernobyl disaster shows that humanity must be extremely cautious when using nuclear technology. Nuclear accidents can lead to global consequences. They are not only a problem of a country, but they affect people's lives in many areas , 'Yanukovych said.

On April 26, 1986, the No.4 reactor at the Chernobyl plant exploded, causing radiation to spread across Europe and killing at least 30 people soon after. Many others died of radiation-related diseases and this is still controversial.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster also left hundreds of thousands of people evacuated in Ukraine, western Russia and Belarus. Engineers built a concrete cover around the broken reactor to prevent radioactive leaks, but experts say the government should build a new shell.

The preparation process for the new shield has been carried out since 2008. The preparation work involves shoveling contaminated soil into the pit and filling that hole with concrete. From April 26, about 1,000 workers began assembling pieces of iron to form a shield above the reactor. Because contaminated soil was buried, workers did not have to wear radiation-resistant clothes during the dome assembly.