How Cheap Done Chernobyl did a steel shield during the Ukrainian War

Eric Schmieman has worked with the modern engineering equivalent of the Great Pyramid – a giant protective protection for a damaged reactor in Chernobyl, which will increase the worst nuclear disaster.

In 2016, the reactor peel on the railway road number 4 is the world’s largest portable structure. This football field is as tall and weighs almost 40,000 tons. More than 45 countries and the organization spent almost $ 1.7 billion to build.

“Many safety analysis, we have taken into account many bad things,” said Mr. Schmieman, a retired civil engineer from 78, Washington, a retired civilian engineer in the project. “We considered earthquakes, tornadoes, heavy winds, 100 years of snowfall, all sorts of things.”

On February 14 A drone with a high explosive warhead likely to be less $ 20,000 to remove a hole in the steel crust. Ukrainian officials said that the Russians deliberately target the structure with 136 drone. Kremlin rejected responsibility.

When the initial fire was quickly extinguished, a waterproof membrane was burned and almost three weeks, Artem Syria, Head of the Operations Department, called on the new reliable detention department. Ambulance in mountain climbing techniques, in a structure to prevent the shield to the outer layer of shield, hunting for fire and water, in the water spray, Ukrainian officials and international experts said.

Side March 7Ukraine has officially extinguished the fire. According to Ukrainian officials, about half of the northern part was damaged. International Atomic Energy Agency gossip On March 13, the fires and burners were “expensive to the south side of the northern side of the roof,” he said.

Radiation levels outside the Chernobyl are still normal, IAEA and Ukraine are called nuclear regulators. However, it is not known how the shield will be corrected, how much it will cost and last.

Repair work can take years, warn nuclear experts. This can delay a plan for the demolition of the damaged reactor and the radioactive waste that needs to begin in the next five years. The temporary “Sarkofagus” Soviet engineers have risks to worsen Soviet engineers, where the steel crust began to corrotes or still sitting in the crust.

“The reason for the fact that the international community is the reason for such money and the time this structure, SHAUN Burnie, who is a nuclear specialist who visited the radiological scale in Chernobyl after the Drone attack.

“Europe, Ukraine and the world are a great intellectual achievement to build something that can protect it from inside,” he said. “Now the Russians exploded in a hole in both physical and figuratively.”

Left on Thursday, Greenpeace a report To say that the drone has severely violated plans for the damaged reactor and the crust does not work as designed. Greenpeace nuclear specialist in Ukraine Jean Vande Putte, the removal of all the crusts should be demolished and changed, Mr. Schmieman and Mr. Siri said they need to give an echo. IAEA, Shell’s detention function is broken and the structure is “broad repair efforts”.

Both Russia and Ukraine targeted each other’s energy infrastructure since the full-scale occupation of Moscow in February 2022, but both launched large shocks at nuclear power plants.

Wednesday, as part of the negotiations on the potential ceasefire, President Trump The United States claimed that Ukraine seized electricity and nuclear energy websites and would help protect them.

Drones continue to fly over the Chernobyl almost every night, Mr. Sirii said in an interview. “Their motor noise became a familiar voice,” he said. Many, most likely went to the country’s capital, Kiev.

For people at a certain age, in 1986, the blast in Chernobyl was the items of nightmares after the fear of the Soviet Union and the United States. He sent many radioactive material to the air, a public health in Europe caused emergency, and many leaders of nuclear energy. Initially, the Soviets, which hide the disaster, the concrete and steel extraordinary ambulance to open a damaged reactor “Sarcofagus”. Authorities also established a “exception zone” of 1,000 square miles to prevent anyone to live.

The official death of the explosion was 31. However, many people were ill or as a result. Cancer rates, especially for thyroid cancer, were very exposed to radiation.

Sarcophag, who is becoming increasingly unstable, has never been intended to continue. Understand how it will change for decades.

Mr. Schmieman’s work in Chernobyl was an engineering and construction fedence designed to protect the reactor for 100 years. To minimize the radiation exposure, the structure was performed in a third of a mile from a damaged reactor, and then fulfilled. This is about 40 feet thick with a steel-made exterior and interior bark. The level of moisture between the shells is kept below 40 percent to prevent corrosion.

The outer shell is the key to prevent rain, Mr. Schmium. The inner shell is designed to protect the radioactive dust inside the structure, especially when the cranes are already established separation Before the sarcophag and damaged reactor in smaller containers safely.

By the end of this year, experts aim to complete the initial plan that announces the first demolition phase. Mr. Sirii said that “Unfortunately, this is no longer possible,” Mr. Siri said.

He said that the experts can be stabilized and if the crust can be fixed. Employees would have to close a hole of the last 540 square meters. However, they had to seal the small holes created by workers trying to extinguish the fire. They had to repair damaged membranes and insulation and any damaged internal structures. And hundreds of employees had to reduce high power hoses in the structure.

The place where the arrested crust is now sitting, it is probably impossible to experts, because the employees will be exposed to high radiation. Move the structure and then fix it would be difficult. What will it be protected from an unstable sarcophag when this work is done?

“The full restoration of the enterprise is practically impossible,” Mr. Siri. “It will require this to the original situation as soon as possible – it will probably require hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Mr. Schmieman said that the structure was repaired or built and the new one. He offered to cover the damage temporarily – with something like a canal – thus the ventilation system in the inside can begin to reduce moisture. “Don’t look for a quick, permanent solution for a large number of holes inside the building, but do not look for a fast way to reduce corrosion,” he said.

He said something that could help, “Drones. Ukraine has mainly developed drone technology faster than any country due to war. Small drones – are smaller than 136 pierce the structure – maybe you can assess the damage inside the crust and even help you fix it.

Oleksandra mykolyyshyn Contributing report.