Chernobyl's 'Sarcophagus' Is Being Dismantled as It's on The Verge of Collapse

[jpak]

https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-s-sarcophagus-is-finally-being-dismantled

<snip>

On 26 April 1986, the core of a nuclear reactor at the plant opened during a routine safety test, sending plumes of radioactive material into the air. The explosion and subsequent fires released widespread contamination across Europe, but the most contaminated site by far was the downed reactor No. 4, where the accident took place.

<snip>

The covering was designed to be sturdy – it relied on 400,000 cubic meters of concrete and about 16 million pounds of steel – but the construction was done in haste. As workers scrambled to contain the damage without getting hurt, they failed to seal off the building's joints.

They also left openings in the ceilings, which allowed water to enter and corrosion to set in.

Now, the entire sarcophagus has to be dismantled before it comes tumbling down.

<more>

[FBaggins]

1. That's silly

It’s being dismantled because it was replaced and now stands in the way of any cleanup efforts.

[gordianot]

2. The replacement dome was designed to dismantle earlier work.

For the next 20,000 years a succession of domes may be necessary depending on how long they last. Russia and Eurasia is under constant threat they do seem to understand that. When the Volga River is poisoned much of Europe will be uninhabitable. Contaminated metal from Chernobyl has already spread around the world from recycling. No reason fo alarm this disaster is ongoing but in much slower motion.