Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant - An Overview of the Current Efforts to Stabilize the Chornobyl Shelter and Establish an Environmentally Safe Site

Conference · Mon Aug 08 04:00:00 EDT 2005

OSTI ID:877033

Couch, Daniel P; Gronier, Serge; Heriot, Ian D; Hogg, Charles; Novak, Vince; Schmieman, Eric A

Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant ? An Overview of the Current Efforts to Stabilize the Chornobyl Shelter and Establish an Environmentally Safe Site Abstract?The 1986 accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine resulted in the destruction of the reactor core and most of the reactor building. The Chornobyl accident released an enormous quantity of radionuclides into the environment, significantly contaminating a large region around the plant. Within seven months of the accident, the damaged Unit 4 was encased in a massive concrete and steel enclosure known as the Shelter. Deterioration of the Shelter over time poses increasing risks. The Shelter is subject to structural damage or collapse due to wind, snow loading, or seismic activity. Collapse could lead to the release of radioactive fallout. Leakage of rainwater into the Shelter has caused the accumulation of a large quantity of highly radioactive liquid, corrosion of extremely contaminated nuclear fuel debris, and creation of hazardous radioactive dust. To address these concerns, the government of Ukraine, the G7 nations, and additional donor countries adopted the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) in 1997. The SIP's objectives are to reduce the risk and potential consequences of accidental collapse of the Shelter; improve nuclear, industrial and environmental safety; and develop a long-term strategy for conversion to an environmentally safe site. Implementation of the SIP has made significant progress that will lead to the construction of a new confinement facility by 2009. (Full paper available by contacting lead author, Dan Couch)

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 877033
• Report Number(s): PNWD-SA-6914
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ACCIDENTS
CONCRETES
CONFINEMENT
CONSTRUCTION
CORROSION
Chernobyl
Chornobyl
DECOMMISSIONING
DECONTAMINATION
FALLOUT
IMPLEMENTATION
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR CORES
SAFETY
SHELTERS
STEELS
decommissioning
nuclear plant