Strategic directions of the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system after installation of the New Safe Confinement

According to the materials of scientific report at the meeting of the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine, May 16, 2018

Abstract

At the end of 2016 the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was installed into the design position at the Chornobyl NPP. The NSC became the main protective barrier of the Shelter object which isolated it from the environment. The installation works of the NSC are planned to be finished by the end of 2018. The creation of the NSC is just the initial phase of the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system. The ultimate goal is the retrieval of fuel materials that demands implementing preliminary research, arranging organizational and technical measures. Different variants of the achievement of the ultimate goal are presented. It is shown that the most acceptable variant is the “step-by-step retrieval” which involves immediate retrieval of dangerous nuclear materials concentrations during the lifetime of the NSC. The article covers basic strategic directions of the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system after installation of the NSC.