The consortium of French construction companies "Novarka" on Tuesday, November 29, completed the process of installing a new safe confinement (NSC) - an arch-sarcophagus, which 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 facility is designed for 100 years and cost 1.5 billion euros.
“We welcome the completion of this phase of the Chernobyl NPP transformation as a symbol of what we are able to achieve together through strong, decisive and long-term efforts. We applaud our Ukrainian partners and contractor, and also thank all the donors of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, whose contributions 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, "said Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), quoted by RIA Novosti at the ceremony.
The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was not left out of business either, saying that " russian threat" worse than disaster at the Chernobyl NPP. "No one could have imagined that the Chernobyl test would not be the worst and not the worst that Ukraine would have to endure. And that Ukraine is building an arch and a safe confinement in a war, when it is defending itself from Russian aggression," Poroshenko said.
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 so far allocated 750 million euros for Chernobyl projects.
The EU High Representative for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini, Deputy Chairman of the European Commission for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, EC Member for Neighborhood Policy and EU 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 unstable structures and extract 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 Nezalezhnaya Ostap Semerak told reporters that Kiev would ask international partners to assist in dismantling the damaged power unit. "I would like to say that we expect technical support, scientific support, technical support in the dismantling of the fourth power unit," he said, noting that it would be difficult for Ukraine to cope with such a task on its own.
In the fall of 2015, Bouygues and Vinci, 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 Paris' Stade de France, weighing five times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. The height of the new sarcophagus reaches the level of an approximately 30-storey 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 exposure. A so-called 30-kilometer exclusion zone was created around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, from which two cities were completely evacuated - Pripyat and Chernobyl, as well as 74 villages.
The first sarcophagus ("Shelter") above the emergency power unit was erected shortly after the explosion, but in last years the structure began to collapse.
Ecology
Many people know that on Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) they are building a new "Arch", but few people can clearly imagine what it is, why a new arch is needed, and also who is building it.
The new arch (or sarcophagus) is officially called Shelter-2 and is a project named "New Safe Confinement" (NSC)... This structure is an insulating arched structure.
In the near future, it will cover the old Shelter, built over the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was destroyed as a result of a man-made accident.
Construction of a new sarcophagus started back in 2007, and it was originally assumed that Shelter-2 would be ready by 2013. However, due to lack of funding, the launch date of the new facility postponed to 2017.
A little about the old sarcophagus in Chernobyl
The old sarcophagus is short-lived. Besides radiation, it is influenced by various external factorsthat lead to its destruction.
For example, on February 12, 2013, several hanging slabs collapsed on the old sarcophagus, which covered the turbine room of the fourth power unit.
The total area of \u200b\u200bthe collapse, as a result, amounted to approximately 600 square meters ... It should be noted that such "holes" in the arch create a radiation hazard for the environment and people.
At the moment, under the ceilings of the sarcophagus is approximately 200 tons of radioactive materials.
Data on the new sarcophagus (2016-2017)
* Width: 257 meters.
* Height: 108 meters.
* Length: 150 meters.
* Weight of structures: 29,000 tons.
* Number of workers on site: about 3,000 people.
* Operating time: 100+ years.
Total project cost: 2.15 billion euros.
This arched structure will be more than just a frame over the old Shelter.
The new sarcophagus is large-scale technological complex... It is equipped with special equipment.
For example, a system of main cranes will be installed inside the new sarcophagus, which will help to dismantle the old sarcophagus, and later the damaged fourth reactor.
Scheme of a new safe confinement (sarcophagus) (video)
What will the new sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant give
1. Will protect environment and people from radioactive particles.
2. Will enable workers to partially dismantle the emergency and unreliable parts of the old sarcophagus.
3. Isolates "Shelter" from rain and melt water.
Construction of the sarcophagus "Shelter - 2"
To transfer the project from paper to reality, it was required to solve many technical problems.
For example, in order to be able to dismantle the ventilation pipeto draw air into the buildings of the 3rd and 4th power units, a huge crane was needed.
What is the problem:
* The old pipe is 150 meters high and weighs 350 tons.
* After the accident, the pipe was damaged and was at risk of collapsing onto the roof of the old Shelter.
A super-heavy German crane arrived from Italy especially for dismantling the pipe DEMAG SS-8800-1... He was perfect for similar work, as its carrying capacity is 1,600 tons.
Using special tools the pipe was cut into 6 fragments, and then dismantled in parts. After that, she was buried in the building of the 3rd power unit.
The total cost of dismantling the pipe was US $ 11.7 million.
Terex DEMAG CC-8800-1 crane operation (video)
Chernobyl. Sarcophagus. 2016.
The contractor of the new sarcophagus - the international consortium Novarka - is going to certify the construction work in November 2016, which means that the entire new sarcophagus will be fully assembled and sheathed, and all that remains is to move it over the "Shelter".
The arch will be one of the largest in the world and the largest movable arched structure on Earth.
Special shielded equipment will be installed under the new sarcophagus, which will allow specialists to enter the most polluted areas. With this equipment engineers will operate remotely, which means that the number of people who will work at the facility will be minimized.
How to install a new sarcophagus in Chernobyl
When all the necessary equipment is installed in the arch, it will be moved and pulled over the old sarcophagus. The movement of the new arch will be carried out using a jack system.
In the photo you can see red cubes - these are jacks that were installed in those places (zones) where the new sarcophagus rests on the foundation. A total of 4 jacks are installed for each zone - 2 at the bottom and 2 at the top.
Moving the sarcophagus
The new arch will gradually move in steps (1 step \u003d 80 cm) over the Teflon plates. The arch travel speed will be 10 m / h... The first pair of jacks will pull the entire arch with them, while the second pair will push it.
At this stage Shelter-2 is located 330 m from the old sarcophagus... According to the contractor, it will take three days to install the new shelter.
The arched structure will adjoin the walls of the reactor, which will take on the role of the enclosing contour.
Walls of the new arch "Shelter - 2"
* One of the walls of the new sarcophagus has an opening of a certain shape so that the sarcophagus as much as possible closer to the old "Shelter".
* When the sarcophagus is moved, special folding panels will be installed on it, and when, at last, the old structure is covered with an arch, these panels will be lowered and created an object high level tightness.
* It should be noted that the new arch has both inner and outer skin, and the distance between them is 12 meters. This space between the skins, as the ventilation system operates, will be filled with warm air, which will reduce the humidity level and thereby significantly inhibits the corrosion process.
* An excess pressure will be created between the two skins, which will create a suction effect, which in turn will prevent radioactive dust from getting out of the arch.
After installing a new arch in Chernobyl
When the project is put into operation (November 2017), specialists will start a new stage - dismantling of old structures and further dismantling of the damaged reactor compartment.
The last step will be dismantling the block structures themselves, which is scheduled for completion by 2023.
New sarcophagus "Shelter - 2" (video)
Chernobyl. Inside the sarcophagus (video)
Object "Shelter" (old sarcophagus)
"Room 012" (bubbler pool)
In November 2016, an event occurred at the shutdown Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which 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 based since 1986. It protects the sarcophagus from rain, snow and wind and should allow in the future to deploy work to dismantle the destroyed power unit. It would seem that the goal has been achieved. But after a year and a half, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) reported that the new protection had not yet been put into operation. Is it dangerous for the health and life of people, and when will the project finally be completed, for the implementation of which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has allocated 2.1 billion euros?
What means" commissioning"safety arches?
It is allowed to work from 10 to 30 minutes in hazardous areas of the Shelter. In some places, you can work up to an hour, say the engineers of the GINR. Today at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the control level of the annual exposure dose is up to 14 millisieverts (mSv). Of these, 13 mSv is external exposure, and 1 mSv is internal.
"In some cases, - explains Natalia Rybalka, - Ukrainian legislation allows to agree with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to increase the permissible exposure levels. Part of the personnel at the facility today receives individually permissible doses of up to 30-35 mSv per year."
"With increased radiation, it is necessary to change workers more often," says Irina Golovko. According to her, at the beginning of this year, there was not enough personnel to complete the work on the protective arch, and therefore the terms of commissioning the facility were postponed again. In March, at a meeting of the public council under the state inspection of the SNRCU, it was announced that the general contractor for the work of JV Novarka 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 finish the project at the end of May. But the question of completing the project in September or even by the end of this year is being considered in the working order," says the engineer.
See also:
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Exclusion Zone
After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, it became necessary to control the territories that were subjected to the greatest radioactive contamination - these are the cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat. The 30-kilometer zone around the station was closed for free access. Today in Chernobyl there is an enterprise for the management of the exclusion zone; up to 2,800 people of the personnel of the enterprises building the arch for the sarcophagus also live there.
Secret object "Duga-1"
The secret object "Duga-1" is a Soviet-era radar station designed to detect launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. "Duga-1" never took over entirely on combat duty. The multi-antenna structure is 700 meters long and 150 meters high. After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the facility was mothballed, later its main elements were dismantled and removed.
Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy
In the 1970s, the 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 stopped only at the end of 2000. Work is underway on the construction of a new isolation structure over 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 borders of the exclusion zone, everyone is required to undergo dosimetric control.
Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy
Arch - a new hideout for the sarcophagus
More than 600 thousand people took part in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident. Their main task was the construction of 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 the beginning of its partial dismantling.
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 lifting restrictions on living there. However, shortly after the accident and evacuation locals under various pretexts, they began to return to their homes. These people were nicknamed "self-settlers". Today there are about 180 of them in the zone: 80 in Chernobyl and about 100 in villages located in the 30-kilometer zone.
Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy
Shop with groceries twice a month
Basically, "self-settlers" are elderly people. They now live in four villages in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone. "Samosely" grow vegetables and fruits, gather mushrooms in the forest and drink water from wells. Of the benefits of civilization, they have only electricity. A grocery shop with bread and cereals arrives twice a month, and once a month the postman delivers pensions.
Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy
"The bucket of death"
The so-called "bucket of death" is one of the current attractions of the city of Pripyat. The ladle was used in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident directly at the 4th power unit of the ChNPP. The radiation from the bucket (even a few meters away) exceeds the norm by ten thousand times. It is forbidden to touch it.
Dead ground
Pripyat was to become the most beautiful and exemplary city in Soviet Ukraine. But it went down in history as a city-monument to the worst nuclear catastrophe in the world. At the moment, only a special laundry, a water fluoridation and deferrization station and a garage for the ChNPP special equipment operate in Pripyat. Not a single person lives in the city.
Chernobyl zone 30 years after the tragedy
Extreme tourism zone
Several thousand extreme tourists visit the exclusion zone annually. Before the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russian citizens were in the lead among foreign tourists. Today most of the guests are from Poland, the Czech Republic and the USA.
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, Kiev region).
Due to the large size of the arch, it had to be built in two parts, then to be moved together.
The arch was installed using a special system, which consists of 224 hydraulic jacks and allows the structure to be moved at a distance of 60 cm in one cycle.
The protective structure, "New Safe Confinement", is to isolate the building of the Chernobyl emergency power unit, which suffered 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 only has to protect the damaged 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 NPP during scheduled tests.
- The reactor core was completely destroyed, the power unit building partially collapsed, and a significant release of radioactive materials into the environment occurred.
- At the time of the emergency, two people died, about 600 people from 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 the territory of the USSR.
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, which covered the fourth power unit of the ChNPP.
- The Shelter installation made it possible to stop the release of radioactive elements into the atmosphere.
What's inside the Shelter?
- Inside the Shelter is at least 95% of the irradiated nuclear fuel from the destroyed reactor, including about 180 tons of uranium-235, as well as about 70 thousand tons 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 \u200b\u200bthe cracks reaches 1 thousand square meters. m.
- The period of guaranteed operation of the Shelter was originally calculated until 2006.
- In 2004-2008, the Shelter structures were strengthened, which guaranteed the stability of the facility until 2018.
- On February 12, 2013, hanging plates collapsed over the turbine room of the power unit, which did not result in a significant increase in the radiation background in the Chernobyl NPP zone.
- Later, the Shelter's service life was extended until 2023.
- Back in 1997, at a meeting of the G7 countries, a plan for the implementation of measures at the Shelter was adopted 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 English confinement - "confinement", "conclusion").
Who financed the construction of the new sarcophagus and how much did it cost?
- The Chernobyl Shelter Fund, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), was established to finance the construction of the NBK and other works. The fund is replenished by 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, part of of which the construction of the sarcophagus is, exceeds € 2 billion.
- Russia is among the donor countries of the fund. Its initial contribution was € 45 million (listed in 2011-2012). Later, the Russian government decided to transfer € 10 million in 2016-2017 as an additional contribution (€ 5 million annually).
- The contract for the design and construction of the NSC was signed on August 10, 2007. The NSC must ensure the protection of the emergency unit for at least 100 years. It was planned that from 2017 Ukraine itself will pay for the maintenance of the facility, but the project is still receiving international funding.
Who is managing the project and who is implementing it?
- The NSC project is managed by the Ukrainian State Specialized Enterprise "Chernobyl NPP" in cooperation with American companies Bechtel International Systems and Battelle Memorial Institute.
- The construction contractor is the Novarka consortium (part of the French companies Vinci Construction Grand Projects and Bouygues Travaux Publics). Subcontractors: Cimolai (Italy - fabrication of metal structures), 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 structure of an arched shape (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 and others, as well as auxiliary structures.
- The NSC structure includes foundations and a platform for the installation area (total - 81 thousand sq. M of reinforced concrete pavement), 400 steel and 400 concrete piles, steel structures with a total weight of 24 thousand 860 tons, an external multilayer cladding with a total area of \u200b\u200b86 thousand sq. m, etc.
- It was decided to mount the arched structure at the Chernobyl NPP site at a distance from the Shelter object, so as not to expose the workers to radiation, and then slide it over the structures of the emergency power unit.
How was the construction of the new sarcophagus going?
- In 2008-2011, preparatory work: cleaning and planning of the territory, arrangement of pits and an assembly site for assembling 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 the decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the transformation of the Shelter object into an environmentally safe system. The law came into force on January 1, 2010. The priority measures for 2009-2012 included the elimination of spent nuclear fuel from the first or third power units of the station and its transfer to the storage facility, as well as the construction of the NSC.
- In 2012, the design of the NSC was completed.
- In 2013, with the help of a super-heavy crane, a ventilation pipe, common for the third and fourth power units, weighing about 330 tons was dismantled, which prevented the arch from being installed in the operating 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 arches. In December of the same year, the builders began to erect 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, the metal structures of the arch were installed (30 thousand 552 tons). From 14 to 29 November 2016, the arch was pushed over the building of the emergency power unit.
- After the installation of the arch, works were carried out on sealing, installation of auxiliary rooms and equipment. It was expected that the NSC will be put into pilot operation in November 2017, however, the installation of various technical systems (ventilation, taps, power supply, fire safety, radiation control, etc.) took longer than originally planned. As a result, the deadlines for the delivery of the arch were repeatedly shifted.
- On March 15, 2018, the press service of the State Agency of Ukraine for the Management of the Exclusion Zone announced the installation of a sealed membrane on the new sarcophagus, which will ensure " radiation safety object "Shelter" for 100 years ".
What happens after the new sarcophagus is installed?
- Under the protection of the NSC, it is planned in the future to extract radioactive materials from the Shelter and to "transfer them into a controlled state," that is, to ensure safe storage.
- Under the ceiling of the arch, there are guides for remotely controlled overhead cranes. 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 the completion of cleaning the remnants of the fourth power unit and the station's territory from radioactive contamination was 2065.
Material prepared using data from TASS-Dossier
In Ukraine, work has been completed on the construction of a new protective structure over the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On November 29, parts of the arch of the new Shelter object were joined, the ChNPP website reports.
Due to the large size of the arch, it had to be built in two parts. The arch was installed using a special system, which consists of 224 hydraulic jacks and allows the structure to be moved at a distance of 60 cm in one cycle. In mid-November, specialists began to move the arches towards each other - at a distance of 300 meters.
The protective structure - a "new safe confinement" - should isolate the building of the Chernobyl emergency power unit, which suffered in 1986 as a result of the largest disaster in the history of nuclear energy.
The height of the new protective arch is 110 meters, the length is 150 meters, the span is 260 meters, and the weight is more than 31 thousand tons. It is the largest mobile structure in history.
Arch installation process in November 2016. Video: EBRD
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It was decided to mount the arched structure at the Chernobyl NPP site at a distance from the Shelter so as not to expose the workers to radiation, and then slide it over the structures of the emergency power unit. More than a thousand people work at the construction site in two shifts.
The new sarcophagus will not be the final solution to the problem - it just has to protect the emergency unit for at least another hundred years. The old Shelter facility is more than thirty years old and was erected shortly after the disaster at the station on April 26, 1986. The service life of this object ended ten years ago, and after that its old structures were repeatedly strengthened. After the construction of the arch from the first "Shelter" it is planned to extract radioactive materials and "transfer them to a controlled state", that is, to ensure safe storage. It is planned to finally clean up the remnants of the fourth power unit and the station's territory from radioactive contamination by 2065.
The cost of the project of the new Shelter, which includes the construction of the sarcophagus, exceeds 2 billion euros. The money was provided by more than 40 countries, as well as the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).