Today the world remembers the anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

36 years have passed since the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP). However, information about Chernobyl is still on the lips of the world media in connection with the war in Ukraine.

Today it became known that the head of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has declared an “alarm”, emphasizing that the levels of radioactivity at the facilities of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine are “anomalous”.

The situation at this radioactive site remains difficult, mainly due to damaged bridges and demining work. Ukraine has previously sent the Atomic Energy Agency a list of urgently needed equipment. It concerns, for example, radiation measuring equipment, protective suits and diesel generators.

These generators already had to be used in Chernobyl in March, after the regular power supply system failed during the Russian occupation. However, it is not yet clear whether Grossi and his team will be able to restore the transmission of data from Chernobyl to the agency’s headquarters in Vienna.

…The real problem is Ukraine’s 14 operating nuclear reactors, Grossi said.

During his visit, Grossi also plans to personally thank the staff of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. They had to work without interruption for several weeks in the most difficult conditions. However, Ukraine’s 14 operating nuclear reactors remain a real problem. If they are damaged during the ongoing hostilities, the consequences will be catastrophic. Therefore, Grossi has already announced further visits.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2022 marks the 36th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. On this day in 1986, a powerful explosion occurred at the fourth power unit of the nuclear power plant, as a result of which there was a powerful radioactive release that spread to the lands of the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the RSFSR.

Almost 200 tons of radioactive substances got into the atmosphere. About 160 thousand square meters. km was in the affected area. The fission products of nuclear fuel ejected from the destroyed reactor into the atmosphere contained radioactive gases, condensed aerosols and fuel particles. Radioactive aerosols fell mainly with rain over a large area within the borders of Ukraine, Belarus and the central regions of the European part of Russia. The contaminated territories were divided into four categories: the exclusion zone, the resettlement zone, the zone of residence with the right to resettlement, and the zone of residence with a preferential socio-economic status. In 1986 and 1987, in the exclusion zone, where the cities of Pripyat and Chernobyl were located, a mandatory evacuation of the population was carried out. As a result of the Chernobyl tragedy, more than 2 million people suffered, dozens died from high doses of radiation.

Immediately after the accident, approximately 600 people from the station personnel and firefighters were exposed to acute radiation exposure. Of these, 237 were initially diagnosed with acute radiation sickness (ARS), later this diagnosis was confirmed in 134 people. 28 people died from ARS in the first months after the accident. Three died at the time of the explosion at the fourth power unit.

For seven months, the destroyed fourth power unit was covered with a concrete sarcophagus. The object was named: “Shelter”. “The sarcophagus was erected in 1986 under extremely difficult conditions, when it was impossible to approach not only the block, but also the industrial site itself in the direction where the main trace fell. There, the levels of radiation were such that not only people could not approach – the cars refused, ”Leonid Bolshov, director of the Institute for the Safe Development of Nuclear Energy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reports West i.Ru.

One of the most important tasks in eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident was the safe and long-term disposal of nuclear fuel. We decided to build a protective perimeter around the destroyed power unit. And by November 1986, a “shelter” was erected over the fourth reactor, better known as a “sarcophagus”. Its construction took 400 thousand cubic meters of concrete mix and 7 thousand tons of metal structures. The sarcophagus was erected as soon as possible – in 206 days.

Built “shelter” 90 thousand people. They were mobilized from different parts of the Soviet Union. Worked on a rotational basis around the clock. A shift of ten thousand people.

The “shelter” object was designed to operate for 30 years. Over time, its floors and walls began to collapse: for example, in 2013, hinged slabs of 600 square meters above the machine room collapsed.

In 2007, they decided to build a new protective sarcophagus called “Arch”. Its service life is estimated at 100 years. The dimensions of the new structure are several times larger than the old sarcophagus. Length – 165 m, height – 110, width – 257 meters. The structure weighs over 35 thousand tons. About three thousand workers erected the object.

Money for the project was allocated by Ukraine, Russia and several Western countries. In total, more than 2 billion dollars were spent on the construction. The new shelter will allow you to dismantle the reactor and then bury its parts.

They built the “Arch” on a site near the power plant. The assembly and lifting of the elements of the first half of the “Arch” lasted from 2012 to 2014, by 2015 the second half was completed. After that, both parts were combined into a single structure. By November 2016, the installation was fully completed.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant became the largest in the history of nuclear energy, comparable only to the disaster at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan in March 2011.

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