Ukraine on Sunday will honor the victims of one of the biggest disasters in the history of nuclear energy, the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.


Chernobyl NPP is located on the right Bank of the Pripyat river, 12 kilometers from the town of Chernobyl.

Twenty-5 April 1986, the day before the catastrophe at the Chernobyl NPP was preparing to stop at the 4-th unit in preventive repair. During the stop of the reactor was planned to conduct the experiment to test the possibility of additional emergency power unit in case of power failure.

Due to restricted stop reactor was postponed several times, this caused difficulties with the reactor power control.

The twenty-sixth of April at 1 hour 23 minutes occurred in an uncontrolled increase in reactor power, which led to the explosions and the destruction of a significant part of the reactor. In the end, the catastrophe in the environment was ejected a large number of radioactive substances. So, significantly contaminated with radioactive cesium-137 was the territory of Ukraine (37, 6 thousand square kilometers), Belarus (43, 5 thousand square kilometers), the European part of Russia (59, 3 thousand square kilometers).

The liquidators of the disaster found about 600 thousand people. Remove the effects lasts until now.

According to experts, the main cause of the disaster became flagrant violations of the rules of operation of the NPP made by the staff of the 4th power unit.


The Ukrainian authorities want to transform the Chernobyl station in a safe system. This object is being created in the form of an arch with a height of 105 meters, a length of 150 meters and a width of 260 meters - the So-called new sarcophagus. 1st sarcophagus (the Shelter ) was built above the emergency unit immediately after PE, But in the last few years, the structure began to collapse.

at the end of 2007, the cartel NOVARKA, a French-led companies began to create the arch. Inside the steel structure will be the process building and additional facilities. To complete the construction planned in 2015. However, due to lack of funds the completion of works was delayed until November 2017.

apply the territory of Chernobyl and I also want the construction of the centralized spent fuel storage facility (storage facility), It is expected to enter into operation in 2016.

Just For the completion of the construction of the sarcophagus are required 615 million. Apart from the EBRD allocated an amount of 350 million euros, it is expected that 165 million For this purpose will provide the country's "Big seven" and the European Commission.

Ukraine is now in a serious political crisis that affects the economy and the public sector - in fact the country is on the verge of default. Anyway, the head of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has promised to complete construction of the sarcophagus over the destroyed reactor even in difficult conditions For the state ".


in April this year it was announced that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant officially passes to the stage of withdrawal of the first, second and 3rd units from service. This decision was made by the State inspection of nuclear regulation of Ukraine after a successful operation to release blocks from spent fuel.

The first stage of the withdrawal NPP operation is the stage of " final shutdown and preservation ". Its implementation will require not less than ten years. At this stage 1-3 units is expected to translate into a state with the same high level of safety and with a minimum consumption of resources in the long-term storage.

according to the NPP, the final shutdown and preservation of these units will continue until 2028.

sections: Politics