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Chornobyl Nuclear Plant Planning To Start Construction
of New Shelter Over Destroyed Fourth Reactor In April 2009
ADIT, http://www.ukranews.com
     The specialized state enterprise called "Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant" plans to start construction of a new, safe shelter (confinement) over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant's destroyed fourth reactor in April 2009.
     The Chornobyl nuclear power plant announced this in a statement, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained.
     "Work involving transfer of 80% of the load on the B1 and B2 beams on the external structures at the Shelter will be completed by April 25," the statement said, citing the Chornobyl nuclear power plant's Director-General Ihor Hramotkin.
     According to him, repair of the facility's light roof will be completed in the June-August period.
     "After that, one can start the real physical work involving preparation of a site for construction of the foundation of a new, safe confinement," he said.
     He added that work connected with the project involving construction of the shelter was ahead of schedule.
     As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the specialized state enterprise called "Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station" and the Novarka consortium (France) signed an agreement on construction of a confinement (new shelter) over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant's destroyed fourth reactor on September 17, 2007.
     According to the Ukrainian Presidential Secretariat's deputy head Oleksandr Chalyi, the project will cost USD 505 million, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station will place the order for the project, and construction of the new shelter will take five years.		      On January 10, 2008, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant specialized state enterprise signed a contract with the Russian company Atomstroieksport and the Ukrainian companies YUTEM Engineering, Pivdenteploenerhomontazh, and Atomenerhobudproekt on completion of the stabilization work aimed at raising the safety levels at the Shelter.
     The contract provides for repair of the Shelter's light roof, installation of physical protection mechanisms on access ways, and additional jacking of support beams to make them able to stand a load of 80%.
     On July 9, 2004, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant state specialized enterprise signed a contract with the Stabilization consortium valued at USD 49 million for implementation of structural stabilization work on the Shelter facility.
     The Stabilization consortium was made up of the Russian company Atomstroieksport and the Ukrainian companies Pivdenteploenerhomontazh,
     Atomenerhobudproekt, and the Department for Construction of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.
     As part of the Stabilization project being implemented by the Stabilization consortium, efforts were made to construct outer support beams outside the western wall of the Shelter facility to take in December 2006 50% of the load created by the roofing on the western wall of the facility.
     However, subsequent calculations showed the necessity to increase the load on the supports to 80%.

     The explosion of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant's fourth reactor in 1986 was the world's worst man-made accident.