The New Safe Confinement (NSC), a multinational project to construct a modern radiation sarcophagus over the destroyed reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, has been effectively completed, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on 25 April.

The report came after a successful 72-hour trial operation test on the eve of the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred overnight into 26 April 1986.

EBRD said the successful conclusion of the 72-hour trial operation test marks the safe physical completion of the new structure placed over the destroyed reactor. “The New Safe Confinement will protect the environment from further releases of radioactive materials and enable the long-term safe and secure deconstruction of the old shelter and the destroyed reactor, as well as the removal of the radioactive inventory,” EBRD said.

The completion of the tests is the culmination of over a decade‘s work on the NSC implemented through the EBRD’s Chernobyl Shelter Fund. The project was supported by over 45 donor nations as well as funds from the EBRD in excess of a total cost of €2.1 billion, representing the largest international collaboration ever in the field of nuclear safety.

Balthasar Lindauer, EBRD Director, Nuclear Safety, said: “This is a tremendous success and the result of the outstanding cooperation of all parties involved. We thank our donors for their commitment and our partners for the finalisation of this unique project.” The NSC is part of the Shelter Implementation Plan to transform Chernobyl into an environmentally safe and secure environment. The EBRD to date has provided €715 million of its own resources to support Chernobyl projects.

A conceptual design for the NSC was completed in 2001, and construction began in 2011. The NSC was designed to cover the reactor building and a shelter built in 1986 to enclose the remnants of the destroyed reactor 4. The original shelter, or “sarcophagus”, which was hurriedly built in seven months under extremely difficult circumstances, has deteriorated. The NSC, with a 100-year design life, was constructed away from the sarcophagus to reduce radiation exposure to workers. It was moved into place from its construction site in November 2016. 

Photo: Commissioning tests have been completed at the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement (Credit: EBRD)