Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement Rises: The First Stage

After nearly two decades of administrative, political, and financial setbacks, major progress is being made now at the New Safe Confinement. Having been previously called "Ukritye" and the "Shelter Implementation Plan" over the years, the secure NSC outer shell being built over the decaying Chernobyl Sarcophagus will allow Reactor 4 to finally be safely dismantled with greatly reduced risk to the environment.

In the clip below, Vince Novak, the EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]'s Director of Nuclear Safety discusses the construction progress and the NSC's benefits.



This video (:35) shows a time-lapse version of the first NSC section's raising.

• April 27, 2012: Construction Begins on New Chernobyl Containment
• 1993 proposal for remediation of the Sarcophagus, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [via OSTI.gov, PDF]
• USAID 2006 pledge letter promising American funding for the Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Plan [PDF]
• November 29, 2012 story and photos in World Architecture News
• November 29, 2012 story and photos in RT News
• November 29, 2012 in Pravda