Chernobyl:New Sae Confnement andSpent Fuel Storage Facility 

26 April 2011 marks the 25th

anniversary of the accident at

the Chernobyl nuclear power

plant. Since then Ukraine and

the international community

have been working continuously

on overcoming the legacy of

the accident and converting

Chernobyl into a safe and

secure site. Today two major

technical tasks remain: The

rst is to make the destroyed

unit 4 environmentally safe. The

second is to safely and securely

store the spent nuclear fuel

from reactors 1 – 3. This is the

most important stage in the

decommissioning of these units.

 

The purpose o the New SaeConfnement is to seal o thedestroyed unit 4 o the Chernobylnuclear power plant and to allowor the eventual deconstructiono the current structure known as“shelter” or “sarcophagus” whichwas erected in the immediateatermath o the 1986 accident underextremely perilous circumstances.

This structure, or which a complexstabilization program has beencompleted in 2008, was neverintended as a permanent structure.

A longer term strategy was laidout by a team o Western andUkrainian experts in 1997 in theShelter Implementation Plan (SIP).In the same year, the internationalcommunity led by the G7 set up theChernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) atthe EBRD to implement the Plan.

The SIP defnes fve central tasksto decrease the risk to workers,the population and the environmentand to transorm Chernobyl intoan environmentally sae site or atleast the next 100 years. The plan

sets out a step-by-step approach,To select adequate technicalsolutions as data and inormationon the structure are gathered.

The most spectacular and visibleproject under the SIP is the NewSae Confnement, which will havea span o 257 metres, a length o 164 metres, a height o 110 metresand a weight o 29,000 tons. It willbe assembled on site, but away rom the highly radioactive unit 4,and then slid into place, coveringthe reactor building. It will protect

The Shelter and the New Safe Connement

Timeline1986

► 26 April: Explosion o reactor 4 o theChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

► April - October: Construction o sarcophagus as a temporary measure.

1995

► G7/EU and Ukraine sign Memorandum o Understanding

► EBRD Nuclear Saety Account extended toinclude the decommissioning o Chernobylreactors 1-3.

1997

► May: G7/EU and Ukraine agreement on theShelter Implementation Plan (SIP);

► September: Establishment o the ChernobylShelter Fund (CSF) at the EBRD

► November: First pledging event in New York

► December: CSF becomes operational

Nuclear Saety web sitewww.ebrd.com/nuclearsafety

 

against the incursion o waterand snow and prevent the releaseo contaminated materials.

The new structure will be equippedwith two cranes with a liting capacity o 50 tons each. Dismantled sheltercomponents can be laid down orprocessed inside the New SaeConfnement which will have aliespan o at least 100 years.

The contract or design andconstruction o the New SaeConfnement was signed in September2007 with the consortium NOVARKA,ormed by the construction companiesBouygues and Vinci. While thedetailed design is currently beingfnalised, work on the oundationshas already started. Work on thestructure will begin as soon as thedesign receives regulatory approvalrom the Ukrainian authorities,expected in early 2011.

The New Sae Confnement is themost visible - and with a cost o some two thirds o the total alsothe most expensive - but ar romthe only task under the ShelterImplementation Plan. Among SIPtasks already achieved are:

► Stabilisation o the roo and thewestern wall o the Chernobyl

shelter 2004-2008 with eighty percent o the roo load transerred toa new external support structure.Extremely challenging tasks insidethe shelter were also successully carried out, reducing the risk o collapse. The stabilisation wasfnished on-time and within the costestimate o about US$ 50 million.It is the largest internationally-unded and completedproject at the site to date.

► The necessary inrastructure hasbeen put in place without whichthe construction o the New SaeConfnement could not take place.The uture main construction areahas been ftted with road andrail connections. Site serviceslike power, water, drains andcommunications supplies havebeen comprehensively reurbished.

► A new, state-o-the-art acility or 1,430 workers has beenbuilt which oers medical andradiation protection acilities andan ambulance. In the neighbouringtown Slavutych a hospital wing hasbeen reurbished and equipped.

► Training courses have introduceda new saety culture amongthe workorce. A radiological

protection strategy and programmeor workers are in place and anemergency plan or accidentshas been developed. State-o-the-art biomedical protection andscreening programmes have beeninstalled and radiation protectionequipment has been procured.

► Studies were carried out to assessthe site’s risks and assessedthe probability o criticality incidents as virtually non-existent.Measurement o neutron ux ispart o an integrated monitoringsystem, completed in 2010, whichcombines data on parameterssuch as radiation levels but alsoseismic activity and the structuralbehaviour o the shelter.

Financing o all activities underthe Shelter Implementation Plan – including the New Sae Confnement

– comes under the ChernobylShelter Fund, established at theEBRD and with the Bank as undmanager in 1997. As o end-2010,the Chernobyl Shelter Fund hasrecorded contributions o €864million. The Donor Assembly has soar approved nine grant agreementscommitting €811 million to thecompletion o the project.

1998

► Year-end: Implementation o frst projects:Contracts or project management unit andengineering tasks signed;SIP implementation begins

2000

► May: Second pledging event in Berlin

► Year-end: Ukraine shuts down last operatingChernobyl reactor (Unit 3).

2001

► April: Decision in principle on the design o the New Sae Confnement (NSC)

 

The second major task at Chernobylis rom a saety point o view by no means less important. About10 years ater the end o nuclearpower generation on the site theInterim Spent Fuel Storage Facility 2 (ISF-2) will provide a crucialcomponent o a preparatory stage orthe decommissioning o units 1-3.

Spent uel is currently stored at thesite in an interim wet storage acility constructed in Soviet times (ISF1) andin pools in the units. Some spent uel isstill stored in the uel ponds inside thethree units, which means that certainsaety and operational unctions – suchas cooling – need to be maintainedand that the actual decommissioningor dismantling o equipment cannotstart. This acility does not conormto modern standards and it appearsunlikely that its current licence wouldbe extended when it expires in 2016.

The Interim Storage Facility 2 willprovide dry storage or the morethan 20,000 spent uel assembliesrom the operation o Chernobyl NPPor a period o at least 100 years.

The project will use existingconcrete storage modules and abuilding or the processing o theassemblies. Processing will includecutting, drying and ftting o spentuel into storage containers.

The contract to design andcomplete the acility was signedwith the American company Holtecin September 2007. The designo the new acility was approvedby the Ukrainian regulator in late-2010. Work can commence oncethe contract amendment or theimplementation is signed. It isexpected that the constructionwork will be fnalised by 2014.

The ISF-2 is unded through theNuclear Saety Account, set upby the G7 at the EBRD in 1993to provide fnancial support orsaety assessments and the shortterm saety upgrades o old Sovietdesigned nuclear power plants. Theund comprises 16 countries plusthe European Commission and hasso ar received about €320 millionin contributions rom its donors.

Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility 2

Nuclear Safety Account

Established in 1993 at theEBRD to fnance nuclear saety measures in Eastern Europe.Today the NSA fnances twodecommissioning acilities atChernobyl.

ISF-2 Processing Building

2004

► Start o biomedical protection andscreening programmes or workers inChernobyl

► Year-end: Shelter stabilisation works begin

2006

► December: Stabilisation o Western wallstructures in place

2007

► 7 August: Ukraine and EBRD sign grantagreement

► 17 September: Chernobyl NuclearPower Plant signs contract or NSC andcompletion o Interim Storage Facility 2.

 

The international eorts to supportUkraine to overcome the legacy o the 1986 Chernobyl accident area demonstration o internationalsolidarity and considerablecontributions have been made.

Preparations are now underway ora pledging event or both Chernobylprojects in Kiev in April 2011 tocoincide with the 25th anniversary o the accident. Together additional€740 million will need to be raisedor the projects to be completed.

According to projections based ondetailed engineering the completiono the Shelter ImplementationPlan requires an additional€600 million and constructiono the Interim Storage Facility (ISF-2) an extra €140 million.

To date the Chernobyl Shelter

Fund, which unds the ShelterImplementation Plan, has receivedcontributions rom 23 countries, theEuropean Commission and donationsrom six countries. The EBRDshareholders provided a €58 milliongrant or the New Sae Confnement.

CSF Contributions

Donor Contribution(€ million)

European Community 250.0

United States 182.8

Germany 60.5

United Kingdom 53.1

France 52.5

Japan 45.7

Ukraine 45.0*

Italy 41.5

Canada 34.9

Russia 15.3

Switzerland 9.3

Ireland 8.0

Austria 7.5

Sweden 7.2

Norway 7.0

Netherlands 5.7

Kuwait 5.4

Spain 5.1

Denmark 5.0

Greece 5.0

Finland 4.9

Belgium 4.3

Poland 2.5

Luxembourg 2.5

* In addition, Ukraine has accepted to take overone SIP task valued at US$ 22 million.

Donations have been made by Iceland, Israel, Korea, Portugal,the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

The Nuclear Safety Account, whichfnances the Interim Storage Facility 2,has received contributions romthe ollowing 16 countries and theEuropean Commission to date:

NSA contributions

Donor Contribution(€ million)

France 63.3

United Kingdom 40.4

Germany 37.5

European Community 36.2

Japan 27.0

United States 26.3

Italy 21.2

Canada 15.3

Switzerland 10.9

Sweden 9.0

Russia 7.6

Finland 6.0

Ukraine 5.8

Netherlands 4.2

Denmark 4.0

Norway 4.0

Belgium 1.9

In addition, the EBRD shareholdersprovided a €77 million grantor the Interim Spent FuelStorage Facility in 2008.

An international effort

2008

► 80 per cent o roo load o ChernobylShelter to external support structure

► Beginning o site clearance (utureassembly area or NSC)

2009

► Concept Design Saety Document (key licensing documents) approved.

2010

► Piling or NSC oundations begins

► Approval o ISF2 design

► Integrated Automated MonitoringSystem completed

For further enquiresplease contactNuclear Saety DepartmentEuropean Bank or Reconstruction and DevelopmentOne Exchange SquareLondon EC2A 2JNUnited KingdomTel: +44 20 7338 7195Fax: +44 20 7338 7175Email: nuclearsaety@ebrd.comWeb site: www.ebrd.com/nuclearsaety 

New Sae Confnement design imagesprovided by Novarka