- The director of the Chernobyl power plant warns of the risk of the protective cover being hit.
- The incident with the Russian drone caused damage to the cover and a subsequent fire.
- The IAEA said the enclosure had lost its primary safety functions.
- The radiation level in the power plant remains within normal values.
Serhij Tarakanov, director of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant warns that the protective sarcophagus built over a damaged reactor, it might not withstand a direct hit from a Russian missile or drone. “If an Iskander-type missile or a drone hits directly, or even just lands nearby, it will cause a small earthquake. No one can guarantee that the shelter will survive that. That’s the main threat.” Tarakanov said in an interview with AFP.
The Iskander is a Russian short-range ballistic missile system that can carry various types of conventional warheads, including warheads designed to destroy bunkers. The original cover over the reactor was hastily built shortly after the accident at the nuclear power plant in 1986. Later, a new arched steel structure was built over it, which completely covered the old sarcophagus.
According to AFP in February, a Russian drone seriously damaged the roof of this new construction and caused an extensive fire. Tarakanov added that as a result, the enclosure has lost several of its main functions, which will take at least three to four years to restore.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed at the beginning of December that the cover “has lost its primary safety functions, including the ability to contain radiation.” However, the IAEA inspection mission also concluded that there was no permanent damage to the supporting structures or monitoring systems.
Tarakanov told AFP that the level of radiation in the power plant area remained “stable and within normal limits”. The hole caused by the drone strike was covered with a protective screen, while approximately 300 smaller holes that were created when the firemen intervened during the liquidation of the fire still need to be sealed. The Russian army occupied the site of the Chernobyl power plant at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and withdrew from it after a few weeks.
The protective shield in Chernobyl is a massive arched steel structure that covers the destroyed reactor number four and is supposed to prevent the release of radiation. It is the largest movable earth structure in the world. Its construction began in 2010 and was completed nine years later. The project was expected to last 100 years.
