:Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Construction of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant began in 1972. The plant was meant to have 12 units, made up of six construction phases, and if completed would have been the largest nuclear power plant in the world. The plant would eventually consist of four RBMK-1000 reactors, each capable of producing 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electric power (3,200 MW of thermal power), and the four together produced about 10% of Ukraine's electricity.[http://library.thinkquest.org/3426/data/introduction/location.html library.thinkquest.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504090902/http://library.thinkquest.org/3426/data/introduction/location.html|date=May 4, 2009}} – All four of the reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power station were of the RBMK-type. Like other sites which housed multiple RBMK reactors such as Kursk, the construction of the plant was also accompanied by the construction of a nearby city to house workers and their families. In the case of the ChNPP, the new city was Pripyat. Construction of the station concluded in the late 1970s, with reactor No. 1 being commissioned in 1977. It was the third Soviet RBMK nuclear power plant, after the Leningrad and Kursk power plants, and the first plant on Ukrainian soil.{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/chernobyl-disaster-timeline|title=Chernobyl Disaster: The Meltdown by the Minute|first=Jesse|last=Greenspan|website=History|access-date=2019-09-18|archive-date=2019-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924030437/https://www.history.com/news/chernobyl-disaster-timeline|url-status=live}}

The completion of the first reactor in 1977 was followed by reactor No. 2 in 1978, No. 3 in 1981, and No. 4 in 1983. Two more blocks, numbered five and six, of more or less the same reactor design, were planned at a site roughly a kilometre from the contiguous buildings of the four older blocks. This is similar to the layout of units 5 and 6 at Kursk and shows the similarity in design between the RBMK sites. Reactor No. 5 was around 70% complete at the time of Reactor 4's explosion and was scheduled to come online approximately seven months later, in November 1986. In the aftermath of the disaster, construction on No. 5 and 6 was suspended, and eventually cancelled on April 20, 1989, days before the third anniversary of the 1986 explosion.{{cite news |date=21 April 1989 |title=Soviets Cancel Plans for 2 New Reactors at Chernobyl |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-21-mn-2182-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627004507/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-21-mn-2182-story.html |archive-date=27 June 2019 |access-date=26 August 2019 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Moscow, USSR |quote="The Soviet Union has canceled plans to construct two more reactors at the stricken Chernobyl nuclear power station...The decision was announced six days before the third anniversary of the accident at Chernobyl..." |agency=Times Wire Services}} At one point six other reactors were planned on the other side of the river, bringing the total to twelve.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/discourse/a-physicists-visit-to-chernobyl-digging-a-little-deeper-9961a906b3c1|title=A Physicist's Visit to Chernobyl: Digging a Little Deeper|date=27 June 2019 }}

Reactors No. 3 and 4 were second-generation units, whereas No. 1 and 2 were first-generation units, like those in operation at the Kursk power plant. Second-generation RBMK designs were fitted with a more secure containment structure, visible in photos of the facility.{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Appendices/Early-Soviet-Reactors-and-EU-Accession/|title=Early Soviet Reactors and EU Accession|date=June 2019|website=World Nuclear Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626213457/http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/appendices/early-soviet-reactors-and-eu-accession.aspx|archive-date=June 26, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=March 10, 2016}}

File:ChernobylMIR.jpg in 1997]]

The power plant is connected to the 330 kV and 750 kV electrical grid. The block has two electrical generators connected to the 750 kV grid by a single generator transformer. The generators are connected to their common transformer by two switches in series. Between them, the unit transformers are connected to supply power to the power plant's own systems; each generator can therefore be connected to the unit transformer to power the plant, or to the unit transformer and the generator transformer to also feed power to the grid.{{cite book |author=British Nuclear Energy Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oEqd0IeAhccC&pg=PA11 |title=Chernobyl: a technical appraisal: proceedings of the seminar organized by the British Nuclear Energy Society held in London on 3 October 1986 |publisher=Thomas Telford Ltd |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-7277-0394-1 |location=London, England |access-date=June 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214002828/https://books.google.com/books?id=oEqd0IeAhccC&pg=PA11 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |url-status=live}}

The 330 kV line was normally not used, and served as an external power supply, connected to a station's transformer – meaning to the power plant's electrical systems. The plant was powered by its own generators, or at any event got power from the 750 kV national grid through the main grid backup feed in the transformer, or from the 330 kV level feed in grid transformer 2, or from the other power plant blocks via two reserve busbars. In case of total external power loss, the essential systems could be powered by diesel generators. Each unit's transformer is therefore connected to two 6 kV main power line switchboards, A and B (e.g., 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B for generators 7 and 8), powering principal essential systems and connected to even another transformer at 4 kV, which is backed up twice (4 kV reserve busbar).

The 7A, 7B, and 8B boards are also connected to the three essential power lines (for the coolant pumps), each also having its own diesel generator. In case of a coolant circuit failure with simultaneous loss of external power, the essential power can be supplied by spinning down turbogenerators for about 45 to 50 seconds, during which time the diesel generators should start. The generators were started automatically within 15 seconds at loss of off-site power.

File:Chernobyl_Power_Station_aerial_view.jpg

Electrical energy was generated by a pair of 2x500 MW hydrogen-cooled turbo generators per unit. These are located in the {{convert|600|m|ft|0}}-long machine hall, adjacent to the reactor building. The turbines—the venerable five-cylinder K-500-65/3000—were supplied by the Kharkiv turbine plant; the electrical generators are the TBB-500. The turbine and the generator rotors are mounted on the same shaft; the combined weight of the rotors is almost {{convert|200|t|ST}} and their speed was 3,000 revolutions per minute.{{cite web|url=http://snpp.rosenergoatom.ru/eng/about/production/|title=Energoatom Concern OJSC Smolensk NPP About the Plant Generation|language=ru|publisher=Snpp.rosenergoatom.ru|date=April 30, 2008|access-date=March 22, 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{failed verification|date=January 2017}}

The turbo generator is {{convert|39|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long and its total weight is {{convert|1200|t|ST|abbr=on}}. The coolant flow for each turbine is 82,880 t/h. The generator produced 20 kV 50 Hz AC power. The generator's stator was cooled by water while its rotor was cooled by hydrogen. The hydrogen for the generators was manufactured on-site by electrolysis. The design and reliability of the turbines earned them the State Prize of Ukraine for 1979.

The Kharkiv turbine plant later developed a new version of the turbine, K-500-65/3000-2, in an attempt to reduce use of valuable metal. The Chernobyl plant was equipped with both types of turbines; block 4 had the newer ones. The newer turbines, however, turned out to be more sensitive to their operating parameters, and their bearings had frequent problems with vibrations.{{cite web |title=Последняя командировка – Архив – Forum on pripyat.com |url=http://forum.pripyat.com/archive/index.php/t-2030.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131105355/http://forum.pripyat.com/archive/index.php/t-2030.html |archive-date=January 31, 2016 |access-date=March 22, 2010 |publisher=Forum.pripyat.com}}

{{Main article|Chernobyl Reactors 5 and 6}}

File:Reactors_5_&_6_Chernobyl_Nuclear_Power_Station.jpg

The construction of two partially completed reactors, No. 5 and 6, were suspended immediately after the accident at reactor No. 4, and eventually cancelled in 1989.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-20-mn-2586-story.html|title=Soviets Cancel New Reactors for Chernobyl|agency=United Press International|date=April 20, 1989|access-date=April 1, 2018|via=LA Times|archive-date=November 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114070855/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-20/news/mn-2586_1_chernobyl-nuclear-power-station-civilian-nuclear-disaster-soviets-cancel-new-reactors|url-status=live}} Reactors No. 1 and 3 continued to operate after the disaster. Reactor No. 2 was permanently shut down in 1991 after a fire broke out due to a faulty switch in a turbine. Reactors No. 1 and 3 were to be eventually closed due to a 1995 agreement Ukraine made with the European Union.

Ukraine agreed to close the remaining units in exchange for EU assistance in modernizing the shelter over reactor No. 4 and improving the energy sector of the country, including the completion of two new nuclear reactors, Khmelnytskyi 2 and Rivne 4. Reactor No. 1 was shut down in 1996 with No. 3 following in 2000.{{cite web |title=Early Soviet Reactors and EU Accession – World Nuclear Association |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/appendices/early-soviet-reactors-and-eu-accession.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411064027/http://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/appendices/early-soviet-reactors-and-eu-accession.aspx |archive-date=April 11, 2018 |access-date=April 1, 2018 |website=www.world-nuclear.org}}

SKALA (Russian: СКАЛА, система контроля аппарата Ленинградской Атомной; sistema kontrolya apparata Leningradskoj Atomnoj, "Control system of the device of the Leningrad Nuclear [Power Plant]", lit. "rock"{{Cite web |title=Что означают различные аббревиатуры и сокращения? – Сайт г. Припять. Чернобыльская авария. Фото Чернобыль. Чернобыльская катастрофа. |url=http://pripyat.com/faq/chto-oznachayut-razlichnye-abbreviatury-i-sokrashcheniya.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118014028/http://pripyat.com/faq/chto-oznachayut-razlichnye-abbreviatury-i-sokrashcheniya.html |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |website=pripyat.com |language=ru}}) was the process computer for the RBMK nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant prior to October 1995.{{Cite web |title=RBMK Reactors | reactor bolshoy moshchnosty kanalny | Positive void coefficient – World Nuclear Association |url=https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/appendices/rbmk-reactors.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406084037/http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/appendices/rbmk-reactors.aspx |archive-date=2020-04-06 |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=www.world-nuclear.org}} Dating to the 1960s, it used magnetic-core memory, magnetic tape data storage, and punched tape for loading software.

SKALA monitored and recorded reactor conditions and control board inputs. It was wired to accept 7200 analog signals and 6500 digital signals.State Committee for Using the Atomic Energy of USSR, THE ACCIDENT AT THE CHERNOBYL AES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, Vienna, Austria, 25–29 August 1986. The system continuously monitored the plant and displayed this information to operators. Additionally, a program called PRIZMA (Russian: ПРИЗМА, программа измерения мощности аппарата; programma izmereniya moshchnosti apparata, "Device power measurement program", lit. "prism") processed plant conditions and made recommendations to guide plant operators. This program took 5 to 10 minutes to run, and could not directly control the reactor.Howieson & Snell, [https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/21/020/21020362.pdf Chernobyl – A Canadian Technical Perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629213405/https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/21/020/21020362.pdf|date=2020-06-29}}, January 1987 (PDF).

File:IAEA 02790015 (5613115146).jpg

On 9 September 1982, a partial core meltdown occurred in reactor No. 1 due to a faulty cooling valve remaining closed following maintenance. Once the reactor came online, the uranium in the channel 13-44 overheated and ruptured. The extent of the damage was comparatively minor, and no one was killed during the accident. However, due to the negligence of the operators, the accident was not noticed until several hours later, resulting in significant release of radiation in the form of fragments of uranium oxide and several other radioactive isotopes escaping with steam from the reactor via the ventilation stack. This accident was somewhat similar to the 1975 Leningrad unit 1 accident. The accident was not made public until several years later, despite cleanups taking place in and around the power station and Pripyat. The reactor was repaired and put back into operation after eight months.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwPJDwAAQBAJ&q=rbmk+serpentinite&pg=PA61|title=Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster|first=Adam|last=Higginbotham|date=February 4, 2020|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781501134630|via=Google Books|access-date=May 3, 2021|archive-date=September 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901025133/https://books.google.com/books?id=WwPJDwAAQBAJ&q=rbmk+serpentinite&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}

According to KGB documents declassified in Ukraine on 26 April 2021,{{Cite web|last=Головина|first=Светлана|date=2021-04-26|title=СБУ рассекретила новые документы о катастрофе на Чернобыльской АЭС|url=https://tvzvezda.ru/news/20214261358-yMZcQ.html|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Телеканал «Звезда»|language=ru|archive-date=2021-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503132906/https://tvzvezda.ru/news/20214261358-yMZcQ.html|url-status=live}} serious incidents occurred in the third and fourth reactors in 1984. According to these documents, the central government in Moscow knew as early as 1983 that the powerplant was "one of the most dangerous nuclear powerplants in the USSR". The reasoning behind this had to do with the building's structural integrity. The room which housed the steam separators would reach temperatures as high as 270 degrees Celsius. This excess heat caused the concrete of the building to shift its position, which made the building unsafe and could potentially result in the collapse of the steam separators, which would cause it to collapse onto the reactor hall, causing a meltdown.

{{Main article|Chernobyl disaster}}

On 26 April 1986, reactor No. 4 suffered catastrophic meltdown resulting in a core explosion and open-air fires. This caused large quantities of radioactive materials to be dispersed in the atmosphere and surrounding land. The disaster is regarded as the worst accident in the history of nuclear power.{{cite journal |last1=Cardis |first1=E. |last2=Hatch |first2=M. |title=The Chernobyl Accident — An Epidemiological Perspective |journal=Clinical Oncology |date=May 2011 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=251–260 |doi=10.1016/j.clon.2011.01.510 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3107017/ |access-date=21 April 2025}}

The destroyed reactor was encased in a concrete and lead sarcophagus, followed more recently by a large steel confinement shelter to prevent further escape of radioactivity. The radioactive cloud spread as far away as Norway.{{Cite book|last=Medvedev|first=Zhores A.|title=The Legacy of Chernobyl|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=1990|isbn=978-0-393-30814-3|edition=Paperback. First American edition published in 1990|author-link=Zhores A. Medvedev}}

File:Reactor Hall of Unit 2, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.webm

Reactor No. 2 was permanently shut down shortly after October 1991 when a fire broke out due to a faulty switch in a turbine.{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html | title=Backgrounder on Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident | access-date=January 16, 2011 | publisher=US Nuclear Regulatory Commission | archive-date=March 5, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305132605/http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html | url-status=live }}

On 11 October 1991, a fire broke out in the turbine hall of reactor No. 2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/12/world/fire-reported-in-generator-area-at-the-chernobyl-nuclear-plant.html|title=Fire Reported in Generator Area At the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant|date=October 12, 1991|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 10, 2016|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306122906/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/12/world/fire-reported-in-generator-area-at-the-chernobyl-nuclear-plant.html|url-status=live}} The fire began in reactor No. 2's fourth turbine, while the turbine was being idled for repairs. A faulty switch caused a surge of current to the generator, igniting insulating material on some electrical wiring.[https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/10/13/roof-fire-at-chernobyl-intensifies-ukrainian-calls-to-close-nuclear-plant/ Roof fire at Chernobyl intensifies Ukrainian calls to close nuclear plant] Baltimore Sun (October 13, 1991). This subsequently led to hydrogen, used as a coolant in the synchronous generator, being leaked into the turbine hall "which apparently created the conditions for fire to start in the roof and for one of the trusses supporting the roof to collapse."{{Cite news |last=Schmemann |first=Serge |date=1991-10-13 |title=Soviets Assure Safety at A-Plant Damaged by Fire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/13/world/soviets-assure-safety-at-a-plant-damaged-by-fire.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The adjacent reactor hall and reactor were unaffected, but due to the political climate it was decided to shut down this reactor permanently after this incident.

The 2017 Petya cyberattack affected the radiation monitoring system and took down the power plant's official website, which hosts information about the incident and the area.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chernobyl-ukraine-petya-cyber-attack-hack-nuclear-power-plant-danger-latest-a7810941.html|title=Chernobyl's radiation monitoring system has been hit by the worldwide cyber attack|date=June 27, 2017|website=independent.co.uk|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818234657/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chernobyl-ukraine-petya-cyber-attack-hack-nuclear-power-plant-danger-latest-a7810941.html|url-status=live}}

{{main|Capture of Chernobyl|l1 = Battle of Chernobyl}}

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was the site of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces during the Battle of Chernobyl as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russian forces captured the plant.{{cite web |title=Chernobyl nuclear power plant under control of Russian troops, says Ukrainian President |url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-under-control-of-russian-troops-says-ukrainian-president/ar-AAUfZWm |website=MSN |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225025927/https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-under-control-of-russian-troops-says-ukrainian-president/ar-AAUfZWm |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Zelenskyy |first=Volodymyr |date=February 24, 2022 |title=Ukraine President on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1496862540957114370 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224151756/https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1496862540957114370 |archive-date=2022-02-24 |access-date=2022-02-24 |website=Twitter |language=en}}
{{cite news |title=Russian forces trying to seize control of Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine, says President Zelensky |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/russian-forces-trying-to-seize-control-of-chernobyl-nuclear-plant-in-ukraine-says-president-zelensky20220224212625/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224172356/https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/russian-forces-trying-to-seize-control-of-chernobyl-nuclear-plant-in-ukraine-says-president-zelensky20220224212625/ |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022 |work=ANI News |language=en}}
{{cite news |title=Chernobyl power plant captured by Russian forces – Ukrainian official |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/chernobyl-power-plant-captured-by-russian-forces-ukrainian-official-2022-02-24/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224174356/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/chernobyl-power-plant-captured-by-russian-forces-ukrainian-official-2022-02-24/ |archive-date=2022-02-24 |access-date=24 February 2022 |website=Reuters |language=en}}
{{Cite web |author=Sangal |first1=Aditi |last2=Wagner |first2=Meg |last3=Vogt |first3=Adrienne |last4=Macaya |first4=Melissa |last5=Picheta |first5=Rob |last6=Said-Moorhouse |first6=Lauren |last7=Upright |first7=Ed |last8=Chowdhury |first8=Maureen |date=2022-02-24 |title=Russian troops seize Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukrainian official says |url=https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-24-22-intl/h_438d63764e04c5907533d2c095e73cfd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224182927/https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-24-22-intl/h_438d63764e04c5907533d2c095e73cfd |archive-date=2022-02-24 |access-date=2022-02-24 |website=CNN |language=en-us}} The resulting activity reportedly led to a 20-fold increase of detected radiation levels in the area due to disturbance of contaminated soil.{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=Victoria |date=2022-02-25 |title=Chernobyl: Radiation spike at nuclear plant seized by Russian forces |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60528828 |website=BBC |language=en |access-date=2022-02-25 |archive-date=2022-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225165134/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60528828 |url-status=live }}

On 9 March 2022, there was a power cut at the plant itself. No radiation leaks were reported at the time. However, Ukrainian authorities reported that there was a risk of a radiation leak due to spent fuel coolant being unable to circulate properly.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-09 |title=Chernobyl 'cut off from grid', sparking fears over cooling of spent nuclear fuel |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-outage-b2031874.html |access-date=2022-03-09 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

On 31 March 2022, Russian forces formally handed control of the plant back to its employees, and most occupying forces withdrew. Ukrainian National Guard personnel were moved to Belarus as prisoners of war.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-31 |title=Ukraine: Second UN convoy reaches Sumy, Mariupol access thwarted |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1115252 |website=UN News |language=en |access-date=2022-04-01}}{{Cite news |last1=Tashkevych |first1=Yana |last2=Marson |first2=James |last3=Hinshaw |first3=Drew |title=Russia Hands Control of Chernobyl Back to Ukraine, Officials Say |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-hands-control-of-chernobyl-back-to-ukraine-officials-say-11648764981 |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} On 2 April 2022, Ukrainian media reported that the flag of Ukraine was raised at the plant.{{Cite web |title=Ukrainian flag was raised at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/2/7336590/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}

Russian troops dug trenches and other fighting positions on the outskirts of the highly contaminated Red Forest, which attracted considerable media attention due to unconfirmed reports that soldiers were being treated for radiation sickness in Belarus. The IAEA later clarified that only modest radiation doses (6.5 mSv/year) could have resulted from such activities, and a tour guide in the Zone later acknowledged to the Washington Post that he had helped start these rumors in a "huge exaggeration."

On 14 February 2025, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a Russian drone attack significantly damaged the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement, which covers the sarcophagus and Unit No. 4.{{Cite web |title=Russian drone attack damages Chernobyl nuclear plant’s shelter, Zelensky says|url=https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/russian-drone-attack-damages-chernobyl-nuclear-plant-s-shelter-zelensky-says-20250214-p5lcbh.html |access-date=2025-02-14 |via=The Age|language=en|agency=Reuters}} The IAEA said that radiation levels at the site remained normal.{{Cite web |title=A drone pierced the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-chernobyl-zelenskyy-71d781dbd66754d0a548edd388f3447a |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=AP News|author1=Illia Novikov |author2=Efrem Lukatsky |language=en}}

After the explosion at reactor No. 4 and construction of the sarcophagus, the remaining three reactors were de-contaminated and re-launched (reactor No. 1 on 1 October 1986, reactor No. 2 on 5 November 1986, & reactor No. 3 on 4 December 1987) and continued to operate until the post-Soviet period.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-reactors-14-years-disaster-2016-4|title=Here's why Russia didn't shut down Chernobyl until 14 years after the disaster|first=Sarah|last=Kramer|date=April 26, 2016|website=Business Insider|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629030644/https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-reactors-14-years-disaster-2016-4?r=US&IR=T|archive-date=June 29, 2019}} The Chernobyl New Safe Confinement is equipped with two overhead main cranes, which will be used to remove unstable parts of the original sarcophagus.{{Cite web|date=|title=EBRD New Safe Confinement Technical Presentation|url=http://www.ebrd.com/documents/nuclear-safety/pdf-new-safe-confinement-technical-presentation.pdf|access-date=2022-02-25|archive-date=2021-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002231100/https://www.ebrd.com/documents/nuclear-safety/pdf-new-safe-confinement-technical-presentation.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://chnpp.gov.ua/en/about/history-of-the-chnpp/chnpp-shutdown | title=Post-accident operation and shutdown }} The majority of the external gamma radiation emissions at the site are from the isotope caesium-137, which has a half-life of 30.17 years. {{As of|2016}}, the radiation exposure from that radionuclide has declined by half since the 1986 accident.

On 11 October 1991, reactor No. 2 caught fire, and was subsequently shut down. Ukraine's 1991 independence from the Soviet Union generated further discussion on the Chernobyl topic, because the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's new parliament, was composed largely of young reformers. Discussions about the future of nuclear energy in Ukraine ultimately moved the government toward a decision to decommission reactor No. 2.

On 30 November 1996, following pressure from foreign governments, reactor No. 1 was shut down.{{cite book |author=Mara |first=Wil |url=https://archive.org/details/chernobyldisaste0000mara |title=The Chernobyl Disaster: Legacy and Impact on the Future of Nuclear Energy |date=1 September 2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-4984-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/chernobyldisaste0000mara/page/96 96]– |url-access=registration}} Removal of uncontaminated equipment began at reactor No. 1 in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/wasteRecycling/260407Decommissioning_at_Chernobyl.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202041301/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/wasteRecycling/260407Decommissioning_at_Chernobyl.shtml|title=Decommissioning at Chernobyl|archive-date=February 2, 2009|access-date=March 10, 2016|date=26 April 2007}}{{update inline|date=July 2022}}

On 15 December 2000, reactor No. 3 was shut down after operating briefly since March 1999 following almost three months of repairs,{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/291549.stm|title=BBC News | Europe | Chernobyl reopens|website=news.bbc.co.uk|date=March 7, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401130534/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/291549.stm|archive-date=April 1, 2011}}{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/27/world/last-working-chernobyl-reactor-is-restarted.html|title = Last Working Chernobyl Reactor is Restarted|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 27 November 1999|access-date = 9 August 2020|archive-date = 10 September 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200910051336/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/27/world/last-working-chernobyl-reactor-is-restarted.html|url-status = live}} and the plant as a whole ceased producing electricity. In April 2015, units 1 through 3 entered the decommissioning phase.{{cite web |title=Chernobyl 1–3 enter decommissioning phase |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Chernobyl-1-3-enter-decommissioning-phase-13041501.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310033247/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Chernobyl-1-3-enter-decommissioning-phase-13041501.html |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |access-date=March 10, 2016}} Upon being shut down, the plant was re-classified as a 'State Special Enterprise,' while 'V. I. Lenin' was removed from the name following Ukraine's independence.

In 2013, the pump lifting river water into the cooling reservoir adjacent to the facility was powered down, with the thermal sink expected to slowly evaporate.{{Cite web |title=Draining the pond of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant |url=https://www.chernobyl-tour.com/main/video_chernobyl_tours_en/107-draining-the-pond-of-the-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219224136/https://www.chernobyl-tour.com/main/video_chernobyl_tours_en/107-draining-the-pond-of-the-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant.html |archive-date=2019-12-19 |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=CHORNOBYL TOUR 2020 – trips to the Chornobyl exclusion zone, to the Pripyat town, ChNPP. (ex. CHERNOBYL TOUR)}}

File:Chernobyl_New_Safe_Confinement_August_2016.jpg

Originally announced in June 2003, a new steel containment structure named the New Safe Confinement was built to replace the aging and hastily built sarcophagus that protected ruined reactor No. 4.{{cite book |last1=Onishi |first1=Yasuo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKTjYeWO5E0C&pg=PA247 |title=Chernobyl – What Have We Learned?: The Successes and Failures to Mitigate Water Contamination Over 20 Years |last2=Voitsekhovich |first2=Oleg V. |last3=Zheleznyak |first3=Mark J. |date=3 June 2007 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-5349-8 |pages=247– |access-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106152038/https://books.google.com/books?id=AKTjYeWO5E0C&pg=PA247 |archive-date=6 November 2021 |url-status=live}} Though the project's development had been delayed several times, construction officially began in September 2010.{{cite book |author=Pitta |first=Terra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8raOCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT64 |title=Catastrophe: A Guide to World's Worst Industrial Disasters |date=5 August 2015 |publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Limited |isbn=978-93-85505-17-1 |pages=64– |access-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626213446/https://books.google.com/books?id=8raOCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT64 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |url-status=live}} The New Safe Confinement was financed by an international fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and was designed and built by the French-led consortium Novarka.{{cite book |author=Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RLnC9dJ7OpwC&pg=PA59 |title=Nineteenth report of session 2010–11: documents considered by the Committee on 16 February 2011, including the following recommendations for debate, reviewing the working time directive; global navigation satellite system; control of the Commission's implementing powers; recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, report, together with formal minutes |date=1 March 2011 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-215-55666-0 |pages=59– |access-date=31 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626213440/https://books.google.com/books?id=RLnC9dJ7OpwC&pg=PA59 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |url-status=live}}

In February 2013, a {{convert|600|m2|0}} portion of the roof and wall adjacent to the covered part of the turbine hall collapsed into the entombed area of the turbine hall. The collapse did not affect any other part of the Object Shelter (sarcophagus) or the New Safe Confinement. No variances in radiation levels as a result of the incident were detected.{{cite news|date=February 13, 2013|title=Chernobyl radiation unaffected after heavy snow causes partial roof collapse, Ukrainian officials say|newspaper=New York Daily press|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/chernobyl-radiation-unaffected-roof-collapse-article-1.1263037|access-date=February 15, 2013|archive-date=February 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216111509/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/chernobyl-radiation-unaffected-roof-collapse-article-1.1263037|url-status=live}} The collapsed roof was built after the Chernobyl disaster and was later repaired.{{cite news|date=February 14, 2013|title=Chernobyl roof collapses under snow|newspaper=New Zealand Herald|agency=AFP|url=http://m.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10865344|url-status=dead|access-date=February 15, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413233159/http://m.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10865344|archive-date=April 13, 2013}}

Novarka built a large arch-shaped structure out of steel {{convert|270|m|ft|0|}} wide, {{convert|100|m|ft|0|}} high, and {{convert|150|m|ft|0|}} long to cover the old crumbling concrete dome that was in use at the time. The structure was built in two segments which were joined in August 2015.{{cite web |author1=Ford |first=Jason |date=3 August 2015 |title=Arches of Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement are joined together |url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/arches-of-chernobyls-new-safe-confinement-are-joined-together/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221172541/http://www.theengineer.co.uk/arches-of-chernobyls-new-safe-confinement-are-joined-together/ |archive-date=21 February 2016 |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=The Engineer |publisher=Mark Allen Engineering Limited}} In November 2016, the completed arch was placed over the existing sarcophagus.{{cite web|url=http://www.ebrd.com/news/2016/unique-engineering-feat-concluded-as-chernobyl-arch-has-reached-resting-place.html|title=Unique engineering feat concluded as Chernobyl arch has reached resting place|website=www.ebrd.com|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126195658/http://www.ebrd.com/news/2016/unique-engineering-feat-concluded-as-chernobyl-arch-has-reached-resting-place.html|url-status=live}} This steel casing project was expected to cost $1.4 billion, and was completed in 2017. The casing also meets the definition of a nuclear entombment device.{{cite web |url=http://m.theengineer.co.uk/1020859.article?mobilesite=enabled |title=NOVARKA and Chernobyl Project Management Unit confirm cost and time schedule for Chernobyl New Safe Confinement |publisher=European Bank |date=April 8, 2011 |access-date=April 22, 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

A separate deal has been made with the American firm Holtec International to build a storage facility within the exclusion zone for nuclear waste produced by Chernobyl.{{cite web|url=http://chernobyltwentyfive.org/node/867|title=Chernobyl 25|access-date=March 10, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310010627/http://chernobyltwentyfive.org/node/867|archive-date=March 10, 2013|df=mdy-all}}[http://www.holtecinternational.com/sites/default/files/pr/HH22_18.pdf Holtec International Press Release]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} (December 31, 2007).{{cite news|title=New licence for Chernobyl used fuel facility|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-New_licence_for_Chernobyl_spent_fuel_facility-2803137.html|access-date=April 2, 2013|newspaper=World Nuclear News|date=March 28, 2013|archive-date=April 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412084142/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-New_licence_for_Chernobyl_spent_fuel_facility-2803137.html|url-status=live}} This facility, named the Interim Storage Facility 2, has storage for the 21,297 Spent Fuel assemblies currently at the power plant, which will be loaded into approximately 231 waste canisters, and stored in the ISF-2 for 100 years.{{Cite web|title=EBRD Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility Technical Report|url=https://www.ebrd.com/documents/nuclear-safety/pdf-interim-spent-fuel-storage-technical-presentation.pdf|access-date=2022-02-25|archive-date=2021-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002230836/https://www.ebrd.com/documents/nuclear-safety/pdf-interim-spent-fuel-storage-technical-presentation.pdf|url-status=live}} In 2020, the storage facility was completed, and on November 18, 2020, the first canister of nuclear waste was loaded into the storage area.{{Cite web|title=Historic milestone at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant|url=https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/historic-milestone-at-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant.html|access-date=2022-01-03|website=www.ebrd.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103205316/https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/historic-milestone-at-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant.html|url-status=live}}

• List of Chernobyl-related articles
• List of nuclear reactors

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{commons-inline}}

{{Chernobyl disaster}}

{{Nuclear power in Ukraine}}

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Category:1977 establishments in Ukraine

Category:Chernobyl disaster

Category:Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Category:Nuclear power stations built in the Soviet Union

Category:Nuclear power stations using RBMK reactors

Category:Photovoltaic power stations in Ukraine

Category:Buildings and structures in Pripyat

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1977

Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1977

Category:Former nuclear power stations in Ukraine

Category:Energy infrastructure closed in 1986