August 9, 2019 (interestingengineering.com)
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster is the worst power plant disaster in history. Just 2 months after the disaster, roughly 600,000 Soviet cleanup workers were given the
deadly task of covering the plant's exposed reactor with a massive
'sarcophagus' encasing. Now, it has emerged that, 33 years later,
the sarcophagus has to be dismantled before it collapses. Thankfully, this was
known ahead of time and an impressive undertaking in precise engineering is
making sure that the existing structure is safely replaced.
The 'sarcophagus' encasing the contaminated site of
Chernobyl reactor 4 was made in order to lock in radioactive materials like
corium, uranium, and plutonium. It was erected only two months after the
disaster occurred on April 26, 1986.
At
least 31 of the workers who
constructed the encasing died of acute radiation sickness. The danger of the
construction zone is partially responsible for the deterioration happening
today. Though the covering was made from 400,00 cubic meters
of concrete and approximately 16 million pounds of steel, the
conditions meant that it was hastily built, leaving the building's joints
unsealed, and openings in the ceiling, as Science Alert reports. Now,
33 years later, the covering has to be replaced: SSE Chernobyl NPP, the company
that manages the nuclear plant site, has released a statement online
saying the probability the structure will collapse is "very high" if
it is left in its current state.
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