IT'S ABOUT TIME 30 years on from disaster, workers unveil massive dome to protect world from Chernobyl’s nuclear horror

IT'S ABOUT TIME 30 years on from disaster, workers unveil massive dome to protect world from Chernobyl’s nuclear horror

The £1.2bn mega structure is designed to prevent further deadly radiation spewing from the site

New protective shelter over the remains of the nuclear reactor Unit 4, at Chernobyl nuclear power plant EPA

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BY NICK WHIGHAM AND JON LOCKETT  29th November 2016

ENGINEERS have built the world’s largest land-based moving structure to combat nuclear fallout from Chernobyl –  which suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986.

The mega structure was officially unveiled at the site in Ukraine today and is designed to prevent further deadly radiation spewing from the plant for at least the next century.

A photo of the power plant shortly after the explosion

The massive arched dome is dubbed The New Safe Containment and cost 1.5 billion euros (around £1.2bn) to build.

It has now been moved on top of the concrete that was hastily poured over the failed nuclear reactor in the wake of the meltdown.

The fun park of the deserted city of Pripyat, near the site

Now the dome is in place, work can begin on dismantling the so-called sarcophagus surrounding the reactor, built to contain the fallout from the explosion 30 years ago.

The Chernobyl disaster in the then Soviet Ukraine was the worst civil nuclear accident in history. Thousands of people were exposed, with radiation spreading through Europe.

The gargantuan structure weighs in at around 36,000 tonnes, is 108 metres high and 162 metres long.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2291303/30-years-on-from-disaster-workers-unveil-massive-dome-to-protect-world-from-chernobyls-nuclear-horror

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