Case 35: Chernobyl New Safe Confinement Project

The Chernobyl nuclear power explosion on 26th April 1986 was the worst ever nuclear accident in the world. The reactor hall of unit 4 was destroyed by a massive explosion and radioactive material was released which affected large part of Eastern and Western Europe. The disaster affected large parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The disaster caused huge damage to the environment. The explosion caused deaths of 30 workers and firemen at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The long term health consequences of the accident are still a debatable topic. Over 200,000 people were evacuated from the vicinity of the destroyed reactor. An exclusion zone of 30 km length is in place ever since the accident took place. In the year 2016, the establishment of New Safe Confinement radically transformed the accident site. Chernobyl’s New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a unique design and construction project in the context that such a huge structure was constructed for the first time at a heavily contaminated site. The project was aimed at the safety of the explosion site with the provision for the dismantling of the ageing shelter and management of the radioactive waste within the shelter. NSC have been handed to the Ukrainian government after systems installation, testing and commissioning of the project. The New Safe Confinement is the largest moveable land based structure ever built. The cost of Shelter Implementation Plan amounted to 2.1 billion euros and was funded by contributions from 45 countries, the European Commission and the EBRD.