You're reading: Gamma radiation levels near fourth reactor of Chornobyl NPP ten times lower

Gamma radiation levels in the near zone from the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) shrank on average by ten times after the sliding of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the press service of the State Agency on Exclusion Zone Management has reported.

NPP staff measured radiation levels using a drone in three vertical planes at distances of 120, 266 and 355 meters from the NSC. In the first plane, the radiation level fell by 9.9 times, in the second by 20.7 times, and in the third by 12.6 times.

As reported, the NSC is to be commissioned in November.

In late November 2016, reactor four of Chornobyl NPP was covered with the New Safe Confinement (NSC). The structure has a height of 110 meters, a length of 165 meter and a span of 260 meters. Its frame is a lattice construction of tubular steel members built on two longitudinal concrete beams.

The construction began in 2012 after large-scale preparation at the site. Due to its large dimensions, the NSC had to be built in two parts, which had been lifted and successfully connected with each other in 2015. A crane has been placed inside the NSC arc to dismantle the current old sarcophagus (Shelter facility) and the remnants of the fourth power unit. The NSC has a design service life of 100 years and cost 1.5 billion euro.