The Shelter object is 35 years

    The construction of the protective shell over the destroyed nuclear reactor of the 4th power unit of the Chornobyl NPP become a milestone in the history of the accident consequences elimination. In 1986, dozens of thousands of engineers, builders, scientists and soldiers worked in the extremely harsh radiation conditions near the reactor debris. Overcoming the difficulties, liquidators managed to place hundreds of thousands cubic meters of concrete and dozens of thousands of tons of metal into the destroyed structures of the power unit and construct the Shelter object on their residues.

      Bearing in mind this outstanding feat, the Chornobyl NPP brought together atomic specialists, liquidators and scientists at the panel discussion on November 30, 2021. During the meeting, data on the modern state of the NSC-SO complex hazard was presented, the history of the Shelter object construction was mentioned, participants of these works were remembered.

     The issue of the future activity on the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system was vexed point of the discussion among specialists. It was emphasized, that construction of the New Safe Confinement is only an interim event on the way to the real elimination of the nuclear accident consequences. Characterization and retrieval of fuel containing materials should become an important work on the Shelter object transformation. It is already necessary, while gained experience and knowledge of scientists and operating personnel are kept, to develop plans for further actions. This and other issues were covered in the following reports of participants of the discussion:

• Maksym Shevchuk, Deputy Director of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management “State policy regarding the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system”;
• Serhii Kondratenko, Deputy Technical Director of the SSE “ChNPP” (on the infrastructure) “5 years of the NSC operation – experience and problems”;
• Anatolii Nosovskyi, Director of the ISP NPP “Role of the science in the consequences elimination of the Chornobyl NPP accident. To the 35 anniversary of the Shelter object construction”;
• Valerii Kulishenko, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine “Account of the international cooperation for Chornobyl”;
• Tetyana Baybuzenko, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Kyiv Institute “Enegoproject” “Dismantling of the truss as pilot project of the unstable structures dismantling”.

      According to the results of the panel discussions, Appeal of the panel participants “35 anniversary of the Shelter object construction” to the state management and international community was prepared with proposals for the further activity on the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system. The document was directed to the Government and corresponding state institutions.

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