25 years of Chernobyl disaster:
challenges and progress
• The explosion of unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the
early hours of 26 April 1986 was the biggest accident in the history
of nuclear power generation. Under extremely hazardous conditions
a steel and concrete structure was built hastily immediately after the
accident.
• The response
• This shelter was always intended as a temporary measure until a
more permanent solution would be possible. Stabilisation measures
have eliminated the risk of the shelter’s collapse. Today, the
conditions are in place to transform Chernobyl into an
environmentally safe state with the construction of the New Safe
Confinement.
• The second remaining major technical task at Chernobyl today is the
finalisation of the construction of the Spent Fuel Storage Facility
which is needed for the decommissioning of the spent fuels from
units 1-3, the last of which was shut down at the end of 2000.
• Ukraine and international efforts
• Ukraine and the international community have
continuously worked together to overcome the legacy of
the Chernobyl accident and prepare the
decommissioning of the site.
• After the first safety and decommissioning works at units
1-3 which started in 1995 and were funded by the
Nuclear Safety Account。
• The Chernobyl Shelter Fund was established.
• The plan outlines a course of action to accomplish 5
objectives and identified 22 primary tasks which were
further divided into 297 activities.
• Today most of these activities have been implemented
and have created the condition for the construction of the
New Safe Confinement.
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The Shelter Implementation Plan is financed through the Chernobyl Shelter
Fund.
The Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) was set up in 1997 to assist Ukraine in
transforming the existing shelter over Chernobyl's destroyed unit 4 to a stable and
environmentally safe state.
The CSF finances the implementation of the so-called Shelter Implementation Plan
(SIP) which was elaborated by Western and Ukrainian experts in 1997 as a step-bystep solution to the current situation at Chernobyl.
the Fund has been lead by the G-7 governments and the European Community since
it was announced at the G-7 summit in 1997 (Denver). At the G7 summit of 1999
(Cologne) the initial pledges of US$ 300 million were nearly doubled.
More concerned governments declared their will to support the CSF at the pledging
conferences in November 1997 (New York) and July 2000 (Berlin) and at an event in
May 2005 (London).
The following contributors have provided at least the minimum amount to become
members: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Community, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the
United Kingdom, and the United States.
The following countries have made donations: Iceland, Israel, Korea, Portugal, the
Slovak
As of end-2010 the Fund has received a total amount of €990 million.
The highest decision-making body of the Fund is the Assembly of Contributors,
comprising representatives of 23 countries and the European Commission.
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Work on the Spent Fuel Storage Facility is financed through the Nuclear Safety
Account.
Nuclear Safety Account
The Nuclear Safety Account (NSA) was the first multilateral fund set up in 1993 to
finance nuclear safety projects in central and eastern Europe.
Emergency safety upgrades
In order to increase safety levels of selected first-generation reactors in view of their
early closure, the NSA has funded some urgent technical improvements needed to
reduce the risk of accidents prior to closure: at Ignalina (RBMK-1500) in Lithuania,
and Kozloduy (VVER 440/230) in Bulgaria.
Construction of pre-decommissioning facilities
For the safe decommissioning of units 1, 2 and 3 of the Chernobyl nuclear power
plant, the NSA funds the construction of a facility for the treatment of liquid
radioactive waste as well as a facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Comprehensive safety assessments
The NSA has financed the preparation of independent reviews of the safety analysis
reports produced by the operators of Soviet-designed nuclear power plants.
In Chernobyl, the fund has funded security and safety measures and two
decommissioning facilities. The plant to treat liquid radioactive waste from units 1-3 is
now complete and the spent fuel storage facility currently is under construction.
To-date, the Nuclear Safety Account has received about €320 million in contributions
from its donors comprising 16 countries plus the European Commission.
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The New Safe Confinement
The New Safe Confinement will transform Chernobyl into an environmentally safe
state. The new structure will enclose the damaged reactor 4 and contain the
radioactive inventory of the shelter which was erected under extremely hazardous
conditions after the 1986 accident. It will prevent the intrusion of water and snow and
the dispersion if contaminated dust and provide cranes and equipment for the
eventual deconstruction of the existing structures.
For that purpose the New Safe Confinement will be equipped with two cranes with a
lifting capacity of 50 tons each. Dismantled shelter components can be laid down or
processed inside the New Safe Confinement. It will be able to operate for at least 100
years.
The contract for design and construction of the New Safe Confinement was signed in
September 2007 with the consortium Novarka, formed by the construction companies
Bouygues and Vinci. Work on the detailed design of the structure and its systems
such as cranes, fire protection and ventilation is completed.
The arch frame is a huge lattice construction of tubular steel members built on two
longitudinal concrete beams. In order to reduce radiological exposure to the
workforce, the arch will be assembled 250 metres to the west of the destroyed
reactor and eventually slid into position over the existing sarcophagus.
Clearance of the assembly site right next to the shelter and excavation work for the
foundations in this contaminated area have been completed. Piling for the
foundations and the lifting cranes started in September 2010.
• The Spent Fuel Storage Facility
• The Spent Fuel Storage Facility will provide a long-term storage for
the more than 20,000 spent fuel assemblies from the Chernobyl
units 1, 2 and 3. The completion of the facility is a precondition for
the safe and secure decommissioning of Chernobyl. The project will
use existing concrete storage modules and a building for the
processing of the assemblies. Processing will include cutting, drying
and fitting of spent fuel into storage containers.
• Spent fuel is currently stored at the site in an interim wet storage
facility constructed in Soviet times (ISF-1) and in pools in the units.
This facility does not conform to modern standards and it appears
unlikely that its current licence would be extended when it expires in
2016.
• The contract to design and complete the facility was signed with the
American company Holtec International in September 2007. The
design of the new facility was approved by the Ukrainian regulator in
2010 and the Assembly of Contributors agreed to start
implementation in October 2010. The contract amendment for the
completion of the facility was signed in February 2011.
• Additional €120 million contribution is announced
• The international community, gathered at the pledging conference in
Kiev on April 19, 2011, announced about the contribution of
additional €550 million to the efforts to transform the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power Plant into an environmentally safe site and create the
conditions for a long-term solution for reactor 4 which was destroyed
in the 1986 accident at Chernobyl. Major donors and the EBRD will
work together to close the remaining financial gap.
• At the conference 28 countries made new contributions and several
additional countries announced they are still considering making
pledges. EBRD would make available at least €120 million to the
project and that the Bank would consider additional contributions
depending on efforts by other major donors. The Bank’s governors
decided about the EBRD’s new contribution at the Annual Meeting in
May 2011 in Astana. The pledging conference was organised and
chaired by Ukraine and France as current chair of the G8.
• The additional financial means will replenish the Chernobyl Shelter
Fund and the Nuclear Safety Account, the two EBRD-managed
funds through which the Shelter Implementation Plan for reactor 4
and the Spent Fuel Storage Facility for reactors 1-3 are funded.
• Thank you.