Chernobyl and the NSC

[llewop]

Chernobyl and the New Safe Confinement (NSC)

Okay, as discussed/requested elsewhere (Top Gear thread as it happens) here’s a thread on Chernobyl and the New Safe Confinement.

In my line of work (radiation protection) this has been a fascinating place for a long time and in the end irresistible when an opportunity came to work there.

The New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a project to construct a new structure over the existing shelter (sarcophagus) and include a decommissioning capability so that the shelter and the remains of unit 4 can be demolished. Wiki webpage for NSC.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_New_Safe_Co...

I worked on the project for about 4.5 years from its start to mid 2012 but I’m still in touch with a number of friends working there. The NSC is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2015, current progress can be seen on the ChNPP (Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant) website: http://www.chnpp.gov.ua including live webcam. You can see current work on the 2 halves of the arch being carried out one above the other.

The NSC project is internationally funded through the EBRD http://www.ebrd.com/pages/homepage.shtml So that includes us!

Project languages are Russian and English but with a lot of French thrown in, not least as the JV partners are 2 French construction companies. Having said that at my last count there were at least 25 nationalities involved in working on it.

The inevitable places people want to see when thinking of visiting include Pripyat, so a few piccies....








The 30km exclusion zone is mostly safe (for those tempted by the day trips/tours), follow the instructions of your guide and things should be fine, high radiation levels are mostly near (in!) the shelter and a few other places, mostly off the beaten track.

For those that do make it there, don’t forget to visit the visitors centre which overlooks the construction site and the shelter then go to the souvenir shop in Chernobyl town for something to remember your trip

Finally, at this time I can't ignore the trouble in Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine. What brings it very close to home is Maidan/Independence Square was where we visited most often when we went down to Kiev, including staying in the hotel that overlooks the square that the BBC and probably other journalists are reporting form.

[llewop]

SydneyBridge said:

Excellent, thank you.
if you don't mind me asking. How did you get into radiation protection as a career ?

Don't mind at all - degree in chemistry but didn't want to work in a lab doing the same thing day. From there did a training scheme to become a health physicist, which is the generic profession of radiation protection. I enjoy the mixture of work which in part is based on the science behind it but also is largely interpreting regulations and trying to help people understand radiation in context with other hazards and issues.

I can't complain as it's got me to some fairly unusual places in the world, not least Chernobyl!

[llewop]

MonkeyMatt said:

I recently watched a fishing programme (river monsters with Jeremy wade) and he caught loads of Zander and some pretty big catfish in the cooling channels. He was wandering around there for a couple of days

Which channel did you see that on? I know of the film but never saw what they ended up doing/showing.

[llewop]

Megaflow said:

Very interesting, thank you.

When did they build the external support for the current containment? I have been doing some research in it but I can't find a date.

Western wall stabilisation was completed in 2008, which until the NSC came on the scene was the most visible of the remediation works.

[llewop]

BlackpoolRock said:

Thanks for that llewop. I've wondered though, how will the work so close and around the reactor building when doing the arch ? Thanks.

See the picture below from the ChNPP website - the wall on the left has been built to protect the workers who are constructing facilities that will be part of the completed NSC. The arch assembly area was selected to ensure the dose rates were lower and would allow workers to work effectively.


you may also notice the stack above the building is new - the original one that is in all the archive pictures of the site has been removed - it would be in the way of the arch once in its final position.

[llewop]

dudleybloke said:

do you think the unrest over there will have any effect on the chernobyl containment project?

It will have an effect, if only because of the various companies involved moving their people about for their safety. I know some have been told to leave Kiev and I know others are withdrawing from Ukraine. Whilst I'm not sure it will affect day to day work on site, it will affect other things such as management of progress, although with the time of year and potential weather, there probably isn't that much being done on site right now anyway. Certainly if all the expats were to leave it would pretty much halt things.

[llewop]

Pints said:

Interesting. Thanks.
Does the safety aspect (from radiation) not bother you at all?

In a word no. It's what I've done for a living for over 25 years so I'm used to it & part of my job is to help others understand it and work with it safely and legally. Advantage of radiation over many other hazards and risks out there is we can measure and monitor it pretty well (most of the time - there are a few black arts that are tricky!) so doesn't bother me at all.

[llewop]

dudleybloke said:

Llewop.
Just wondering if you know any updates on the containment structure build.

Construction continues - I've still friends out there working so get some updates, also the Chernobyl website is regularly updated with photos + videos of the 'lifts' when the confinement structure is jacked up.

Current construction is on the second half of the NSC, when at full height and fully clad etc, the first half will be pushed back towards it so they can be joined. I understand current completion estimate is somewhere in 2017 or so.

Assuming of course the issues at the other end of the country don't interfere significantly.

[llewop]

Megaflow said:

A question occurred to me today, if the NSC is designed to enable deconstruction of the remains of reactor 4, once the deconstruction has gone as far as it can will they enclose the remains of reactor 4 in something smaller and remove the NSC?

If so what is the expected time frame to remove it?

I would think leaving a kernel of the remains would not be the desired end point, although pragmatically it may come to that. The tricky aspect that I think that will be encountered is that the NSC will join with the existing structures, which are themselves contaminated/contain debris. So at some point after deconstructing the shelter over unit 4 and the remains below there will come a point where expanding the work area could destabilise the remains of the reactor building and unit 4 so that it could collapse from under the NSC. Or even if that doesn't happen, once all possible work under the NSC has been carried out, it would need to be removed to allow the turbine hall, block B etc to be dismantled.

Theoretically, or at least it was mentioned once or twice, the NSC could be slid back away from the shelter for maintenance or perhaps at end of life to dismantle it. Having said that, design life is 100 years so that could be way off in the future and I would wonder how movable it would be after sitting in it's final position for many decades!

Time frame? I would expect the work of commissioning the NSC, using it to deconstruct the shelter and remove the remains of unit 4 will take decades.

[llewop]

Megaflow said:

Thanks for response. I ask because I have been doing some reading, and as far as I can tell, there isn't a nuclear reactor that has been completely demolished and nothing remains on site.

About the closest to a fully demolished reactor I can find is Yankee Rowe, but even there, 16 casks containing spent fuel remains.

You are probably right with respect to power generating reactors. However, there are quite a number of research reactors (so generally smaller) that have been 'green field' remediated - admittedly somewhat easier due to size, inventory etc.

One aspect of that is the time line has got stretched somewhat from the original vision of things, so deferring at least some of the decommissioning/remediation has advantages with respect to reduced dose and also the uncertainty of disposal repositories probably adds to the temptation to not generate so much of the waste until you've got some idea where it is going to end up!

[llewop]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-3193...

article and video of the NSC on the BBC.

glossing over 'dome' vs 'arch' and a few other details - it shows current/recent state of things and scale of the work.

[llewop]

Apologies for thread resurrection but I have had to try awfully hard to resist posting anything in the 'gazebo ' thread. This seemed a better place to mention this;

Anyway.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08650s6

BBC 4 tonight at 9 has programme about the building of the NSC. No idea if will be any good!

[llewop]

I actually thought it was a decent programme - took time to try to explain some of the physics as well as the history. The crane drivers working from the ground was inevitable as we'd measured the levels above the construction zone and there was enough of an increase even there to influence the work programme - the reason for jacking the structure up in stages was to do most of the work within 30m of the ground, as well as about 500m to the west.

Of the workers and others they included in the programme - I know about half a dozen of them, including the two Brits who were featured a few times.