News

: 29 December 2017

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

I sincerely congratulate you with the most long-awaited and bright holidays - New Year and Merry Christmas!

In a few days, one movement of the clock hands will take us to the next year 2018.

New Year holidays are special for each of us. It has traditionally been that these days we summarize the results of the departing year, analyze our victories and achievements.

Looking back, one can safely say that the year 2017 is well-spent. It brought to each of us a lot of pleasant moments and unforgettable impressions, enriched us with new experience, put together and gave the opportunity not only to withstand, but also create all conditions for further development. This year was full of events, hard work, deep meaning and accomplishments. It gave us the joy of meetings and discoveries, victories and achievements, a new professional and life experience.

On New Year's Eve it is customary to make wishes and believe that they will be definitely fulfilled. I wish you all the best and accomplishment of what you dream today! I wish you to see the road to this and a lot of positive energy to walk along this road every day meeting wise and sincere people, engaging in interesting and various events, creating something your own, shining, good!

I sincerely wish you happiness, sound health, welfare and joy, loyal friends and closed ones by your side.
Let the coming year meet your inmost hopes and desires, bring prosperity and well-being to your families. Let peace, mutual understanding and love dominate in your homes.

Sincerely yours,

Igor Gramotkin
Director General of SSE Chernobyl NPP

: 20 December 2017

Dismantling of structures under the NSC Arch

The works on dismantling of the light roof of the Unit 4 turbine hall are being carried out at the site of the New Safe Confinement (NSC).

Sergei Poplygin, Head of Shop for Object Shelter and New Safe Confinement Operation commented on dismantling methods: “The method itself of dismantling, fragmentation and handling of dismantled roof is the following. The panel is dismantled with size of 12x3 meters. Using the crane, it is descended directly into the body of a special motor vehicle. Subsequently, this vehicle moves the panel to the fragmentation site at the territory of the former assembly area of the NSC arch. At this site, the panels are fragmented to allow their transportation in the body of a KrAZ vehicle”.

Then the fragments removed from the roof will be delivered to "Buryakivka" radioactive waste disposal site.

The last ChNPP Unit was shut down 17 years ago

Chernobyl NPP officially stopped generation of electricity on 15th December 2000. This became one of the most tragic events in the ChNPP history second to the 1986 accident.

At 13:17, by the order of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, Power Unit No.3 reactor was shut down forever with a turn of the key.

The decision on the pre-schedule decommissioning of Power Unit No.3 and final shutdown of ChNPP was made by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 29th March 2000. Such actions were caused by the commitments of Ukraine to the world community stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ukraine and Governments of the G7 countries and the Commission of the European Communities on the Chernobyl NPP Closure. The Memorandum was signed on 25th December 1995.

Results of Chernobyl Shelter Fund and Nuclear Safety Account Donors Assembly meeting are known

The regular meeting of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and Nuclear Safety Account Donors Assemblies was held on December 8, 2017.

According to the information of the Ukrainian delegation members, Assemblies participants established a new date for Arch (NSC) construction works completion - end of May 2018.

Besides, Assemblies members have emphasized decreasing of the radiation levels at the site after New Safe Confinement Arch sliding, as well as starting and successful progress of ISF-2 comprehensive testing. Assemblies members expressed the hope that the Contractors will perform their work at ISF-2 and NSC facilities in due time.

The next meeting of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the Donors of the Nuclear Safety Account Donors Assembly is scheduled for first half of 2018 in Ukraine.

: 08 December 2017

A piece of the helicopter, crashed in 1986, was found

On 6th December, during the dismantling of a post-accident light roof covering of Unit 4 Turbine Hall, a piece of tail fins with broken elements of Mi-8 helicopter’s anti-torque propeller was found. This helicopter had crashed in 1986 during the elimination of the ChNPP accident consequences.

It is a reminder that on the evening of 2nd October 1986, during the treatment of the ChNPP II Generation Units roof (spilling of bonding adhesive over horizontal surfaces), the helicopter of Volodymyr Vorobiov, due to the absence of an alarm rail at a high-altitude crane rope, touched the rope by its blades and plummeted to earth. All members of the crew died from the fall.

Currently, the possibility to retrieve and decontaminate the tail fins piece to use it as a museum specimen is under consideration.

For your information:

The present monument to the died pilots (i.e. Volodymyr Vorobiov, Oleksandr Yunhkind, Leonid Khrystych, Mykola Hanzhuk) is installed close to the Chornobyl helicopter landing site.