Ukraine is planning to spend Hr 728.271 million in 2013 on the decommissioning the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the transformation of the Shelter facility into an environmentally safe system.
A respective action plan and volume of funding were approved under Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 166 of March 20, 2013, the text of which has been published on the government’s Web site.
According to the document, Hr 488.467 million is to be spent on keeping nuclear reactors Nos. 1-3 at Chernobyl and the current storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in a safe condition, Hr 149.58 million on organizational and technical measures for the management, operation, maintenance and repair of systems ensuring the activity of Chernobyl and control over the state of nuclear and radiation safety, Hr 52.553 million on the creation at the plant’s industrial site of infrastructure for the handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, Hr 15.576 million on the unloading of nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors, Hr 19.26 million on the decommissioning and partial dismantling of certain systems and elements of nuclear reactors, and Hr 2.835 million on the development of projects needed to decommission Chernobyl .
As reported, the transformation of the Shelter facility into an environmentally safe system is divided into three stages. During the first stage (1998-1999, 2004-2008), a number of measures were taken to enhance the durability, reliability and efficiency of current or additionally created structures and systems needed to maintain or improve the existing level of safety of the facility.
During the second stage (2008-2015), it is planned to build a new safe containment, develop and test the technologies for the extraction of fuel-containing materials, and create infrastructure for the management of the radioactive waste extracted.
During the third stage, it is planned to remove fuel-containing materials from the facility and bring them into a controlled state by ensuring controlled storage within the protective barriers and/or disposal of radioactive waste in geological repositories.
The cost of the construction of the new safe containment structure at the Chernobyl Shelter facility is EUR 990 million. The funds were provided by countries that are members of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the manager of the funds. The project is expected to be completed by 2015.
Work to install the arch of the new containment structure over the fourth reactor at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant started on April 26, 2012.
The arch will be 105 meters tall, 150 meters long, and 260 meters wide. After it is built, it will be put over the fourth unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is now covered with a sarcophagus.
Chernobyl NPP is located near the town of Prypiat, 18 km from the town of Chernobyl, 16 km from the border with Belarus and 110 km from Kyiv.
