01:43Ukraine: Ghosts of Chernobyl exorcised by Vector project
Ukraine: Ghosts of Chernobyl exorcised by Vector project
Almost 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the construction of a new plant to manage residual nuclear waste was underway on Wednesday.
A giant, steel-arch shelter is under construction in Chernobyl to cover the remnants of the exploded nuclear power plant. The 'Vector' complex is set to be finished in 2015, and is designed to cleanse the site of the residual nuclear waste through transportation, decontamination, treatment and disposal of radioactive materiel.
The internationally-financed $2 billion (€1.5b) Novarka joint venture employs some 1,000 people in Ukraine and other states. The new facility is expected to receive shipments of nuclear waste from power plants across the country.
The area surrounding the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was polluted after an explosion and fire on April 26, 1986, which released large quantities of radioactive particles into the air which were dispersed throughout Europe and the Soviet Union. More than eight million people were exposed to elevated levels of radiation.
To date, Chernobyl is still considered to be the worst civic nuclear accident in human history. Pripyat, a once-booming town of over 50,000 residents and home to most of the workers at the nuclear power plant, has been abandoned for 27 years.
01:43Ukraine: Ghosts of Chernobyl exorcised by Vector project
Almost 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the construction of a new plant to manage residual nuclear waste was underway on Wednesday.
A giant, steel-arch shelter is under construction in Chernobyl to cover the remnants of the exploded nuclear power plant. The 'Vector' complex is set to be finished in 2015, and is designed to cleanse the site of the residual nuclear waste through transportation, decontamination, treatment and disposal of radioactive materiel.
The internationally-financed $2 billion (€1.5b) Novarka joint venture employs some 1,000 people in Ukraine and other states. The new facility is expected to receive shipments of nuclear waste from power plants across the country.
The area surrounding the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was polluted after an explosion and fire on April 26, 1986, which released large quantities of radioactive particles into the air which were dispersed throughout Europe and the Soviet Union. More than eight million people were exposed to elevated levels of radiation.
To date, Chernobyl is still considered to be the worst civic nuclear accident in human history. Pripyat, a once-booming town of over 50,000 residents and home to most of the workers at the nuclear power plant, has been abandoned for 27 years.