TACIS finances feasibility study for the safe enclosure of Chernobyl nuclear power plant
A feasibility study for the stabilization of the existing shelter, and the containment of both the existing shelter and the damaged remains of reactor 4, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) has been financed by the European Commission within the framework of its programme for Technical Assistance to the Community of Independent States (TACIS). Agreement on the financing of this study was reached following a decision made, in August 1993, by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers. A contract for the completion of the study was awarded, in July 1994, to the Alliance international consortium, led by Campenon Bernard (France) and including AEA Technology (UK), Bouygues (France), SGN (France), Walter Bau (Germany) and Taywood Engineering (UK). The results of the first phase of the study were presented, in March 1995, to a panel of Ukrainian and international experts. At that stage, one of the main conclusions was that the existing "sarcophagus", which contains large quantities of radioactive materials, some of them with a considerable lifespan, is unstable and that its stabilization over a long period is technically impossible. The dismantling of the ruined reactor and the retrieval and conditioning of radioactive waste for their storage and eventual disposal under safe conditions implies the construction of a new encasement isolating the works from the environment and preventing any release of radioactivity. The second phase of the feasibility study focused on proposals for the structure of this encasement. The results of the second phase were presented in July 1995. The European Commission considers the results and conclusions of the feasibility study as a preparatory technical element on which the Ukrainian Authorities may base their decisions about the future of the Chernobyl NPP, unit 4. In this context, it should be noted that the President of Ukraine has undertaken, in an arrangement reached with the G7 and the European Union, to close units 1, 2 and 3 of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant by the year 2000.
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Ukraine