Expert: Sarcophagus Over ChNPP Reactor 4 Is About To Collapse

The Russian drone strike reversed 40 years of work to contain radiation.

The collapse of the Shelter facility could happen at any moment and would mean the end of any urgent work to control radioactivity at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This was told in an interview with UNIAN by Greenpeace nuclear expert Shawn Burney.

Remember, on February 14, 2025, a Russian attack drone attacked the shelter of Unit 4 of the plant. This raised fears about the loss of control over the situation in the ChNPP zone.

"The problem is that the NSC (New Safe Confinement - UNIAN) is an airtight environment - at least it was until February 14 last year. Now, in fact, it is no longer," Bernie said.

He said that one of the ways to control radioactivity is the use of so-called negative pressure. The idea is to maintain a higher pressure in the space under the roof than inside the area where the reactor is located.

This is so that if air moves between the interior and exterior, it is directed inward instead of outward. The air then passes through a filtration system, where a powerful conditioning and purification system is in place.

"This is no longer possible now - because of the hole created by the explosion and subsequent combustion in the space under the roof. In that sense, the NSC can no longer fully contain the radiation that could potentially escape," the specialist said.

Burney pointed out that the risk is that in the event of a collapse, radioactive dust would first rise inside the New Safe Confinement and could subsequently be released outside.

"Would it spread hundreds of kilometers? Probably not. However, the local contamination around the NSC and adjacent nuclear facilities, in particular the three reactors, will be so significant that it will be extremely difficult to carry out work there because of the widespread radioactive contamination," says the Greenpeace expert.

Within the New Safe Confinement itself, the collapse of the structure will mean that all previous plans and assessments for dealing with the consequences of the disaster will actually have to be developed anew. We are talking about the 40 years of work it took to reach the current result.

"We cannot allow the collapse of the sarcophagus, the Shelter facility. And that is what Russia's actions have led to. Russia has once again used nuclear as a weapon to threaten Ukraine," Bernie added.

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