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Workers Raise First Section of New Chernobyl Shelter
An anonymous reader writes with this AP report:
"Workers have raised the first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that eventually will cover the exploded nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power station. Project officials on Tuesday hailed the raising as a significant step in a complex effort to clean up the consequences of the 1986 explosion, the world's worst nuclear accident. Upon completion, the shelter will be moved on tracks over the building containing the destroyed reactor, allowing work to begin on dismantling the reactor and disposing of radioactive waste.'"
I must now conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.
Would be an awesome powersource. For some other species that isn't driven by profit above all else.
Lets hope it stays that way.
In Soviet Russia, shelter raises you!
There are no plans to dismantel the reactor at this time, except some parts that prevent the cover from getting into place. The new cover will allow dismantelling of the current sarcophagus and protect the reactor and what remains of the building from the weather.
You do realize what you're talking about, huh?
having said that, they have had trouble getting materials, and funding otherwise it would have already been done. I would also take a the risk of helping aid in covering up the plant with the new cover, especially since the pacth work job the plant currently has could collapse at anytime from now until they actually get that damn dome built.
"Originally, that was intended to be destroyed. But I think this (shelter) will be so impressive that even in 100 years people will come to look at it," Yeah, sure: "Honey, let's go take the kids near that radioactive site that was they covered by a shelter some guys build a 100 years ago" Seriously...?
98% of the radioactive material is no longer inside the reactor.
It got blown out the second it blew up in 1986.
The Ukraine profits massively from this scam.
Sweet monkey Jesus that thing is big.
How long until we have one over Fukushima?
They better watch out for those radioactive bears (as seen on slashdot)
the Soviet where about performance over safety.
That may be true, but surely the 2% that is left is bad enough?
I can't believe it took them 26 years to start working on a proper containment shelter. The original sarcophagus was meant as a temporary solution and wasn't supposed to be relied upon for 26 years.
sorry
it was wholly a perfect representation of a totalitarian regime.
A western corporation, any corporation, is held in check by the governments it operates under, which can rarely be said about most government controlled groups. Yeah I am quite certain people can dredge up problems that corporations have caused but there was someone you could go to about it to prevent it from happening again.
When the watcher is the offender your pretty much betting against time something bad will happen.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I recently saw a documentary about how the remaining populace of Pripyat are not only surviving but in some form thriving. Clearly all of the reactors shown still have their containment buildings intact.
It's been over a 1/4 century, and this is just getting done.
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT
FTFA: "There's no room for error ... the schedule is very tight," said Vince Novak, director of the EBRD's nuclear safety department, who added that staying within budget is also a concern.
30 years to get this figured out and they still wait till the last possible minute. Seems to illustrates the fundamental problem with a lot of problems we face today.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
I don't understand why you see a big difference in calling that a test rather than an experiment.
I speak English however I was taught by mostly unmotivated public school employees in Western Washington.
Anyway, one mans [experiment | test] is another mans meltdown.
No brain, no pain.
this is good news.
this's strange that this tech was first used for killing people (in bombform).
maybe that is the reason no backup plan was ever envisioned if the
"peaceful" version of this tech should turn destructive.
still awesome how the communist soviet union dealt
with the disaster (or "accident" if you speak japanese)
and built the first sarcophagus!
obviously there's no real reason to use nuclear power plants, .. you know ... just in case. ... soon.
except maybe to boot-strap a fusion based energy source, or
built a DAMN-BIG-LASER(tm) to zap a life ending asteroid : P
even in the above cases, saner minds would prolly built a sarcophagus
at the same time they build the nuke plant
-
anyways, let's wish this project good luck and may it get done
You do realize that the reactor design was heavily modified from the original to cut costs?? The original design was considered overbuilt and too costly to build.
In addition to reactor changes, the building was modified as well. Instead of full reinforced concrete enclosure, it was changed to a wooden roof. We all know how well that went.
So please, know what you are talking about before you start talking about it.
If you really are going to include things like structural failures, you should include any deaths that occurred at a nuclear plant due to some mechanical accident unrelated to the nuclear production. Surely someone probably even got in a car accident on the way to work at a nuclear plant. And how many people died when building and testing the original tech? Especially when it was still in its beginnings.
What you cant say is that some wind turbine spilled some wind and that wind destroyed the land for 100+ years.
No, it's not.
You can actually walk around inside the reactor today, if you know the hot-spots to avoid.
Note that I'm all for shutting down nuclear power plants. If they would be so save, utilities wouldn't need to have the state carry the risk of a big accident, which is how things work(ed) here in Germany.
"The shelter is aimed only at blocking radioactive material from escaping when the reactor is being dismantled; it won't block radiation itself."
I'm impressed. That structure was proposed over 20 years ago, but the USSR didn't build it and Ukraine couldn't afford it. Navarco, from France, is building it now, and the European Union is putting up most of the money.
It's badly needed. The containment structure the USSR quickly put up (using 500,000 people in shifts) after the disaster is in bad shape. With protective gear, people can go inside for short periods, and they can see daylight.
Only 47 people were killed directly. Maybe 4000 to 9000 had their lives shortened by radiation exposure.
"We could deal with the cancer problem after a nuclear war by failing to rebuild the tobacco industry."
On the plus side, we got a pretty kickass PC game out of the disaster.
=D
Blaming Chernobyl on the profit motive, that is 'just wow' ... I nominate GP post for "stupidest slashdot comment ever".
Pretty sure they haven't gone in and removed anything, the core literally melted and there is video/photos of the solidified core materials that poured into the lower levels of the structure.
I did see a 90's documentary about some nuclear engineers venturing into the sarcophagus to assess things at one point, it was on youtube but i cbf finding it.
The chernobyl power plant was still running until 2000, not sure how far apart the reactors were from each other but obviously the radiation isn't so bad unless you are literally inside the sarcophagus.