Efforts to slide a protective arch over generating unit No 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) commenced on Thursday, 3 November. The stream from the site is available on the website of the Chornobyl NPP (http://chnpp.gov.ua/en/construction-online).
The arch is expected to cover the unit by 29 November.
It is 110 m high and 165 m long, spanning 260 m. Because of its huge size, the arch was built in two parts which were connected in the summer 2015. It is designed to protect the environment from radioactive pollution and allow the damaged unit to be disassembled and nuclear waste to be removed.
The new confinement was built using the funds collected by the donor countries the Chornobyl Shelter Project managed by the EBRD.
When the damaged unit is covered, the project will move into a new stage of transforming the Shelter facility into an environmentally safe system, which involves the disassembly of unstable structures and removal of nuclear waste.