Chernobyl - Sarcophagus v2.0

TheMightyTen

TheMightyTen

TheMightyTen

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I just saw this article on the BBC website today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25086097

and was just blown away by the scale to which Chernobyl still affects so much and so many still today (as the article states the British taxpayer directly as well).

What an exciting engineering project though and I can understand why engineers and workers from all over the world want to work there regardless of the dangers, I'd be on a plane right now if they offered me a job (although I don't think I'd want to be part of the team currently removing the chimney; a whole "radioactive allowance" in a mater of hours :eek:)


I was living in Germany in Bergen-Belsen when the reactor blew and we were banned from stepping anywhere onto grass, we had to keep to paths and everywhere was constantly monitored by NATO military personnel with Geiger–Müller counters. My father who was a gunnery training officer and observer on the nearby Hohne ranges always had to carry a dosimeter as well. Even that far from the event in Ukraine it had an eerie effect on the real world for me and the ripples of the event seem to go on and on.

I really must take one of the tours to Chernobyl, I keep promising myself I will.
 
It's going to be a dangerous area for thousands of years to come, surely? My limited understanding of radiation is that "it's ****ed" unless we can somehow stop the radioactive material being er.. radioactive by actually changing the atomic structure of the stuff or something? The best we can do is cover it up and stay away.

Also the decay of the structure has been accelerated because of the radiation, I think I remember hearing or reading somewhere.
 
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I was more surprised by how "localised" that danger has become, a few hundred metres away from the current sarcophagus is deemed relatively safe now as working conditions go.

The on-going effects are not really just about the danger though, it's the constant intellectual and financial effect that it has on a world wide scale.
 
TheMightyTen said:
I was more surprised by how "localised" that danger has become, a few hundred metres away from the current sarcophagus is deemed relatively safe now as working conditions go.

The on-going effects are not really just about the danger though, it's the constant intellectual and financial effect that it has on a world wide scale.
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Aye I just read that article. I don't think it was quite that straight forward. Some places are more radioactive than others, not necessarily just near the sarcophagus. Kind of worrying that you can exceed the annual dose by being near the sarcophagus for just 12 minutes even 3 decades on. Really goes to show people who don't understand even the basics about nuclear physics that it is seriously dangerous stuff.

Looks like such an impressive feat of engineering. The real question is, how will the estimated 100 year lifespan hold up to reality with the effects of radiation.
 
Can't wait to see this thing finished. I got a good picture of it in February from the roof of Reactor 5.

RKokenx.jpg


It's supposed to be one of the largest mobile structures ever made.
 
From a Health and Safety perspective, I could study Chernobyl all day. It's a classic example, if not THE example of poor safety culture coming back to bite the employer.

Such a tragedy that the fallout has created so many problems for the country, even to this day :(

The risk projections suggest that by now Chernobyl may have caused about 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers in Europe, representing about 0.01% of all incident cancers since the accident. Models predict that by 2065 about 16,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000 cases of other cancers may be expected due to radiation from the accident, whereas several hundred million cancer cases are expected from other causes.
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On topic.. that dome.. you'd think they'd spend the £1.2bn on finding a suitable disposal area for the waste, than to just chuck a lid on it and hide from it.
 
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EVH said:
On topic.. that dome.. you'd think they'd spend the £1.2bn on finding a suitable disposal area for the waste, than to just chuck a lid on it and hide from it.
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This is the perfect place to leave the waste. In the middle of an evacuated radioactive zone. The only problem is the water table but the tunnels they dug under neath seem to be doing their job.
 
MickeyFinns said:
This is the perfect place to leave the waste. In the middle of an evacuated radioactive zone. The only problem is the water table but the tunnels they dug under neath seem to be doing their job.
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I agree in principle, but given that they've already stated the desire to find a place to store the waste, it doesn't seem sensible to spend £1.2bn on a patch-job.
 
EVH said:
I agree in principle, but given that they've already stated the desire to find a place to store the waste, it doesn't seem sensible to spend £1.2bn on a patch-job.
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I can't imagine how they'd move the core though. It's a 1,000 tonne solid lump of graphite and fuel. The levels inside the reactor hall will still kill you in a few hours. I know some people who've gone into the control rome of Reactor 4 and even that's only safe for 10 mins or so.
 
I always love reading about Chernobyl, its amazing how were still clearing this up till this day. Just wish they would find a permanent fix soon.
 
Along with Fukushima it serves us well to remind us that we should be striding hard and fast away from this dirty, dangerous and unsustainable energy generation!
 
I was out there back in October, and to be honest, the radiation situation is really not as bad as most make out. Standing a couple hundred meters in front of Reactor 4, where most of the Reactor Hall wall was blown out, you are only getting around 8 to 9mSv/h which sounds bad, but then we also measured the exposure on the plane out there, and it was around 4mSv/h . However we were only in front of Reactor 4 for about 30 minutes, whereas we were on the plane for 3 1/2 hours!
Most places in Pripyat were no worse than anywhere else, background radiation only. There are a few hotspots, such as down by the River where the Cafe and the sunken boat are, and also the Fireman's uniforms in the basement of the hospital.
However you just don't linger in those places. The same goes with the workers. They are allowed a certain amount of exposure. If the amount of work required will blow one persons limit, then they get more people to do the same job. 2 People doing the same job in half the time reduces the exposure of the individual back to a safer level.

It is a really interesting place, and one I can highly recommend to anyone who has some adventure in them. Slavutych which is where you stay is also an interesting place to explore as well. I could go on for hours!
 
MickeyFinns said:
Can't wait to see this thing finished. I got a good picture of it in February from the roof of Reactor 5.

http://i.imgur.com/RKokenx.j]

It's supposed to be one of the largest mobile structures ever made.[/QUOTE]

Which company did you use?
I thought i saved it but didnt.

Looking at gooing whenever theres some flight deals on.
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Glaucus said:
Which company did you use?
I thought i saved it but didnt.

Looking at gooing whenever theres some flight deals on.
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Originally went though 28Dl and a guy called konio-nt. It wasn't really a travel company as such. There is another trip planned for April, which I am going on, and hopefully another in October as well. All being organised via Facebook in a private group now to try to keep numbers down. Having said that, we already have nearly 40 interested for the trip in April.

Regards Flights, it tends to be the other way with this group. The trip gets arranged and you book whatever flights are cheapest. Flight cost £180 direct to Boryspil with Ukrainian Airline.

We were also very lucky and got access to the control room of Reactor 1. We were also the last to see the original cooling tower, as they started dismantling it a couple of days after we left. It has completely gone now.
 
Glaucus said:
Which company did you use?
I thought i saved it but didnt.

Looking at gooing whenever theres some flight deals on.
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I used Lupine Travel, based in Wigan.

I recommend them very highly to everyone. Went to North Korea with them and Chernobyl twice. Also went with the owner on a research trip for an upcoming Iraq tour and we're off to Somalia in January as well as them helping with my Iran visa for the cycling trip I am on.

Dylan, the owner, is really good at his job and can help you out a lot if you want to extend your trip around Eastern Europe (he's visited very country in Europe I believe).
 
epswat said:
Originally went though 28Dl and a guy called konio-nt. It wasn't really a travel company as such. There is another trip planned for April, which I am going on, and hopefully another in October as well. All being organised via Facebook in a private group now to try to keep numbers down. Having said that, we already have nearly 40 interested for the trip in April.

Regards Flights, it tends to be the other way with this group. The trip gets arranged and you book whatever flights are cheapest. Flight cost £180 direct to Boryspil with Ukrainian Airline.

We were also very lucky and got access to the control room of Reactor 1. We were also the last to see the original cooling tower, as they started dismantling it a couple of days after we left. It has completely gone now.
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Is that the Polish guy? A friend of mine went on a Polish expedition recently and got some really cool access. Stayed in zone past curfew watching films on a projector in Pripyat, boat trip on the lakes and putting together a helicopter fly over I believe.
 
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