Decommissioning

‘Substantial Funding Gap’ Remains For Chernobyl Work, Says EBRD

By David Dalton
17 March 2015

‘Substantial Funding Gap’ Remains For Chernobyl Work, Says EBRD
The safe confinement structure being built at Chernobyl. Photo courtesy EBRD.

17 Mar (NucNet): There remains “a substantial funding gap” of €100 million ($106 million) for the project to transform the Chernobyl nuclear power station into a safe and secure state, said the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is administering the Chernobyl decommissioning fund.

EBRD member countries have committed €350 million from the Bank’s reserves in anticipation of a €165 million contribution from the G7/EC, the EBRD said in a statement.

The total cost of the Shelter Implementation Plan, which sets out a roadmap for cleanup and decommissioning work at Chernobyl, is estimated at €2.15 billion, with a new safe confinement structure alone costing €1.5 billion.

The €100 million balance to “close the financial gap” is expected to be covered by non-G7/EC donors, the EBRD said, without giving details.

The new safe confinement structure is the central element of the Shelter Implementation Plan. The structure will soon have its two main sections joined together and be fitted with a ventilation system which will keep it corrosion-free during its lifespan.

The EBRD said the structure, an arched building being constructed to fit over the so-called “sarcophagus” built quickly after the accident above the ruined Chernobyl-4 reactor, remains on track to be completed in 2017. The structure is being built in sections next to the existing shelter, and in 2017 will be moved over the shelter to allow decommissioning work while protecting the environment.

The project is entering the “final stage of construction”, the EBRD said.

The purpose of the structure – which will have a height of 110 metres, length of 165 metres and an arch span of 257 metres – is to protect the environment from radiation releases and provide the infrastructure to support the deconstruction of the shelter and nuclear waste management operations. It has a lifespan of at least 100 years.

The EBRD said the work on Unit 4 is not the only task at Chernobyl. The three reactors which continued operations after the 1986 accident also need to be decommissioned, and the spent fuel and radioactive waste treated and stored safely. For this purpose the international community is financing an interim storage facility at a cost in excess of €300 million and a liquid waste treatment facility.

The interim storage facility is in the final phase of construction and will process, dry and cut more than 20,000 fuel assemblies and place them in metal casks, which will be enclosed in concrete modules on site.

The spent fuel will then be stored safely and securely for a minimum period of 100 years. The facility received an operating licence at the end of 2014.

Pen Use this content

Related