New Chernobyl sarcophagus to be built by 2015 - minister

RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED December 13, 2010

A new confinement to encase reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Power Plant, the scene of the world's worst civilian nuclear accident, will be built by 2015, Ukrainian Emergencies Minister Viktor Baloha said on Sunday.

The shelter will be slid over the existing sarcophagus, which was built in haste after reactor 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, and is now crumbling despite strengthening work.

The construction of the $1.1 billion confinement is a challenge for the entire international community, Baloha said during a visit to Chernobyl in northern Ukraine, according to the UNIAN news agency.

The G8 and the European Commission are responsible for raising funds for the project, Baloha added.

Around 25, 000 people were killed and over 200,000 relocated after the explosion in 1986 and there is still a permanent 30-kilometer exclusion zone around Chernobyl.

Topics: East Europe, Ukraine

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