In the middle of a vast exclusion zone in
northern Ukraine, the world's largest land-based moving structure has been
built to prevent deadly radiation spewing from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
site for the next 100 years.
On April 26, 1986, a botched test at the Soviet
nuclear plant sent clouds of smouldering nuclear material across large swathes
of Europe, forced over 50,000 people to evacuate and poisoned unknown numbers
of workers involved in its clean-up.
A concrete sarcophagus was hastily built over
the site of the stricken reactor to contain the worst of the radiation, but a
more permanent solution has been in the works since late 2010.
Easily visible from kilometers away, the 30,000
tonne 'New Safe Confinement' arch will be pulled slowly over the site later
this year to create a steel-clad casement to block radiation and allow the
remains of the reactor to be dismantled safely.
"We've already gone through a number of
very risky stages ... We always have fears, we are people, but there is nothing
technical left that is a challenge," said Vince Novak, the Nuclear Safety
Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The EBRD has managed the funding of the arch,
which has cost around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) and involved donations
from more than 40 governments.
Even with the new structure, the surrounding
zone, which at 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 square miles) is roughly the size
of Luxembourg, will remain largely uninhabitable and closed to unsanctioned
visitors.
Nature has been quick to reclaim the area's
abandoned infrastructure. Trees sprout from the rusted roofs of apartment
blocks in the ghost town of Prypyat, built to house Chernobyl power plant
workers.
Stray shoes and family photos still fixed to
bedroom walls show the speed with which families were evacuated.
The upcoming 30th anniversary of the disaster
has shone a new light on the long-term human impact of the worst nuclear
meltdown in history.
The official short-term death toll from the
accident was 31 but many more people died of radiation-related illnesses such
as cancer. The total death toll and long-term health effects remain a subject
of intense debate.
On Wednesday, Ukrainians who were involved in
the cleanup of Chernobyl - the so-called "liquidators" - protested in
central Kiev to demand the government acknowledge their sacrifice with improved
social benefits.
"Thirty years ago, when we were young, we
were saving the whole earth from a nuclear explosion. And now no one needs us.
Absolutely no one," said one of the protesters, former liquidator Lidia
Kerentseva.
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