Transforming Chernobyl Factsheet [EBRD
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Transforming Chernobyl The EBRD and the Shelter Implementation Plan EBRD factsheet The Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) was set up in 1997 at the EBRD to assist Ukraine in transforming the existing shelter over Chernobyl’s destroyed unit 4 to a stable and environmentally safe state. To achieve this goal, the CSF finances the implementation of the so-called Shelter Implementation Plan which was elaborated by Western and Ukrainian experts in 1997 as a step-by- step solution to the current situation at Chernobyl. Foreword In April 1986 the explosion of Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant shook the world. The consequences of Donors the accident were enormous and manifold. The fallout was The following countries are not only radioactive. contributors to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and members of the International efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Donor Assembly: Chernobyl accident gained momentum in the mid-1990s. A breakthrough was achieved in 1997 when the G7/EU and Ukraine reached agreement on the Shelter Implementation Country Amount By Jean Lemierre (€ million) Plan, a programme of actions to convert the destroyed President of the Reactor 4 into an environmentally safe site. Pledges of over Austria 7.5 European Bank for Belgium 4.3 €800 million to-date underscore the seriousness of the Reconstruction and Canada 34.9 international community’s commitment. Development Denmark 5.0 Ten years on, a lot has been achieved. Stabilisation measures have been European Community 204.8 carried out successfully to reduce the risk of the Shelter that currently encloses Finland 4.5 unit 4 collapsing. The infrastructure is now in place for the biggest project within France 41.8 the Shelter Implementation Plan to begin: the New Safe Confinement. Germany 60.5 Greece 5.0 Given the complex circumstances, this is a project and a construction without Ireland 8.0 parallel in the history of engineering. The confinement will be high enough Italy 33.0 (105 metres) to house a building the size of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Japan 41.7 Paris (90 metres). It will be assembled on site and eventually slid over the Kuwait 5.4 present Shelter. Luxembourg 2.5 The Netherlands 5.7 The work to make this happen has been intense, hard and long. Many valuable Norway 7.0 lessons had to be learned, many important experiences have been made and Poland 2.5 to draw on them will be key for the continuation and completion of the project. Russia 9.0 One of the most important lessons is that an adequate institutional, legal and Spain 5.0 regulatory framework must be in place before anything else can happen. Sweden 6.7 Switzerland 9.3 The signing of the contract for the construction of the New Safe Confinement Ukraine* 45.0 would not have been possible without the continued commitment and United Kingdom 47.6 determination of all parties involved. The donor community, the Ukrainian United States 138.8 authorities, international experts and the EBRD all worked together to make *Ukraine has in addition agreed to take on this happen. the dismantling of unstable Shelter parts, a task valued at about US$ 22 million. This signing marks a massive achievement, but it must not be forgotten that is only the beginning. A successful conclusion will depend on the continued Donations have been made by solidarity of the international community and the unwavering commitment of Iceland, Israel, Korea, Portugal, the all parties involved. Today’s signing demonstrates what can be achieved. In Slovak Republic and Slovenia. this spirit the EBRD will spare no effort to bring this project to a successful conclusion. Gulf of Bothnia G. of Finland Over the years influencesSkagerrak like water and snow have led to a Nor th Sea serious decay of the structure, which stillGulf ofcontains Riga 95 per cent of unit 4’s nuclear inventory.Kattegat Baltic Sea A brief history of the project Scale (km) 0 100 200 1 Belarus Russia The consequences of the nuclear accident at unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the early hours of 26 Chernobyl Kiev April 1986 are still with us. Under extremely hazardous Poland conditions a steel and concrete structure (the Shelter) was built hastily immediately after the accident. This was Ukraine always intended as a temporary measure until a more permanent solution would be possible. Moldova Over the years influences like water and snow have led Sea of Azov to a serious decay of the structure, which still contains 95 per cent of unit 4’s nuclear inventory. The authorities Romania of Ukraine and the international community have been working together for years to find a solution to make the Black Sea shelter stable and the site environmentally safe. 3 These efforts produced first tangible results in MayMontenegr 1997o when the G7, EU and Ukraine agreed on the ShelterAdriatic Sea Within the Shelter Implementation Plan the New Safe Implementation Plan (SIP), a programme of actions Confinement (NSC) is the biggest, most visible and designed by international and Ukrainian experts. In the most spectacular one. Not only the size of the structure same year, the Chernobyl Shelter Fund was set up at theAlbani a Gulf of Taranto is impressive, it is also an audacious undertaking: EBRD with the Bank as fund Tyrrhenianmanager Sea and administrator. Never before has movable structure of such size been Aegean The G7 countries pledged US$ 300 million and manyIonian other constructed,Sea especially in close vicinity to a zone of Sea countries joined as contributors over the following years. radiation danger. This demonstration of international solidarity helped The aims of the NSC are: Ukraine shut down reactor 3, the last operating unit at Chernobyl, at the end of December 2000. When the ■ Prevention of incursion of water and snow Syria government of Ukraine announced its decision, the Chair of ■ Protection against the release of radioactivity the G7 Nuclear Safety Working Group stated: “We certainly Mediterranean Sea ■ Establishment of the environment in which the will not let our Ukrainian friends stand alone. Close to controlled deconstruction of the destroyed reactor and 30 countries are here to work with you for the common theEastern Shelter Europewill be possible. objective that we have.” As recently as the 2006 summit in National Capitals International Boundaries Highways St Petersburg the G8 confirmed: “We remain resolute in ourCities After 3,000,000+ years of preparation,Primary Roads work on the confinement can Cities 900,000-2,999,999 Major Rivers undertakings to Ukraine.” now begin. It is estimatedIntermediate that Rivers completion will take 48- 52 months. The New Safe Confinement will be a massive 2 achievement in engineering, but even more so a powerful symbol of what the international community can achieve by The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is located near the working together. border between Ukraine and Belarus and some 110 kilometres north of Kiev. Construction of the plant began in The latest cost estimate for the Shelter Implementation 1970. Four Soviet-designed RBMK-1000 reactors were built Plan from July 2007 forecasts an overall cost of US$ 1.39 and connected to the grid between 1977 and 1983. At the billion. As of end-June 2007, the EBRD-managed Chernobyl time of the 1986 accident two more reactors, units 5 and Shelter Fund has recorded total contributions of €739 6, were under construction. These plans were subsequently million. Accrued interest brings total income to €810 abandoned. million. Units 1, 2 and 3 were shut down between 1999 and In its last assembly meeting in mid-June 2007 the 2000 and decommissioning is continuing. The Shelter donor community reiterated its commitment to the final Implementation Plan only deals with unit 4. The centre- implementation of the SIP. piece of this plan is the New Safe Confinement. But to enable the realisation of this most visible of all SIP projects, first all the necessary conditions had to be created. The New Safe Confinement will be a massive achievement in engineering, but even more so a powerful symbol of what the international community can achieve by working together. The authors of the SIP identified 5 principal goals, most of which have been achieved: Goal 1: Shelter stabilisation In view of the fact that the Shelter was always only a makeshift solution and its condition deteriorating, the stabilisation of the construction became a priority target to prevent a collapse of the building. Accordingly, the first works carried out under the SIP were emergency repairs. Between end-2004 and end-2006 the roof and the western wall of the shelter were successfully stabilised. In addition, the programme included extremely challenging tasks inside the Shelter such as the installation of new structural Confinement construction concept supports in the ventilation stack. During the challenging stabilisation work 2,500 workers Radioactive water contained in the shelter has also were employed. Throughout construction, strict radiation been perceived as a substantial environmental risk. The protection requirements were adhered to. construction of the New Safe Confinement will result in a As part of the project a work area for the contractor has substantial reduction of water entering the shelter. been created including utilities, warehouses, road and Goal 4: Improvement of worker and rail connections. The Shelter stabilisation was finished on environmental safety time and within the planned budget of US$ 50 million. In addition, the infrastructure has been put in place without Worker protection has always been a top priority under which no construction work can be undertaken on the site. the SIP. A radiological protection strategy and programme This includes a state-of-the-art change facility for 1,430 are in place.