The main facilities at Chornobyl NPP industrial site:

 

Power Generating Units №1, №2, and №3 of the Chornobyl NPP

Chornobyl NPP units 1, 2 and 3 are at the stage of decommissioning. The stage of final closure and shutdown lasts by 2028. After this, the safe storage stage for units is planned by 2045, and all equipment, unstable civil structures, some unit structures are dismantled, and the site will be cleaned by 2064. The Shelter over the destroyed unit 4 is under transformation into an environmentally safe system.

The Shelter and the New Safe Confinement (NSC Arch)

The Shelter construction over destroyed unit 4 enables to protect the environment against release of radioactive substances, and people, especially those who worked at the Chornobyl NPP site, against radiation. However, very tight construction deadlines under high radiation levels, the use of remote methods, insufficient strength of the undamaged structures at unit 4, which became the basis for the civil structures of the Shelter, significant amount of radioactive materials and fuel inside identified the presence of numerous risks and the need to minimize them.

On 12 March 2001, the Interdepartmental Government Commission for the Integrated Solving of Chornobyl NPP Issues adopted a Strategy for the Shelter transformation into an environmentally safe system, which will be implemented in three stages. Stage 1 is the stabilization of civil structures of the Shelter; stage 2 is the construction of the New Safe Confinement; stage 3 is the transformation into an environmentally safe system.

Stabilization of the civil structures was gradually implemented from 1998 to 2008; the construction of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was started in April 2012. In 2016, the NSC arch was installed in the design position above the Shelter. During 2018, Chornobyl NPP took measures to complete construction, installation and electrical mounting activities of Startup Complex 1 of the New Safe Confinement (CS-1), conduct individual and comprehensive testing of NSC systems and equipment in full extent, complete the assembly and personnel training for operation and maintenance of NSC SC-1, put into operation a backup electric boiler room to ensure heat supply to the NSC, obtain an individual permit for operation of civil structures under Chornobyl Stage II, which perform the functions of the new safe confinement enclosure after their strengthening and sealing.

All electrical installation activities, mounting of ventilation systems, installation of a sealing membrane and piping systems have already been completed. Concreting, arrangement of roads and territory, as well as room finishing are ongoing. The total scope of work performed under the NSC contract is 98.5%. An individual permit was obtained for operation of the civil structures under Chornobyl NPP Stage II was obtained. Equipment of the backup electric boiler house was tested to ensure heat supply to the NSC. Percentage of completion is 98%. The implementation of the program for reconstruction of civil structures of parts in deaerator stack and turbine hall in the Shelter, which extend beyond the NSC enclosure, has been started.

Continuous trial operation of the new safe confinement was started on 22 April 2019. During the trial operation, almost all the equipment and systems of the NSC operated in the design mode for 72 hours, which allowed equipment inspection and examination of personnel skills.

The next stage is to develop a package of documents on trial operation results of the arch, after which a permission for trial and commercial operation of the confinement will be obtained, hereinafter the license. These procedures can last about one year. Further, the NSC operation will start for dismantling of unstable structures, first. According to the preliminary plan, its completion is scheduled for 2023. This is the date when the life of the structures constructed to stabilize the old sarcophagus expire.

The final stage should be the creation of an infrastructure for dismantling of unstable structures inside the Shelter, removal of FCMs and radioactive waste for their further management, including disposal.

Liquid radioactive waste treatment plant

A significant amount of liquid radioactive waste with different activity has been accumulated at Chornobyl nuclear power plant over the years of its operation and in mitigation of the consequences resulting from the accident in 1986. The object is constructed. It was commissioned in 2018. The implementation of this facility will ensure reprocessing and conditioning of accumulated and generated radioactive waste.

Industrial complex for solid radioactive waste management

A significant amount of solid radioactive waste with different activity was accumulated at Chornobyl nuclear power plant over the years of its operation and in mitigation of the consequences resulting from the accident in 1986. The facility was constructed and commissioned. The implementation of this facility will allow reprocessing and conditioning of accumulated and generated radioactive waste. 

Wet spent fuel storage facility (ISF-1)

Spent fuel is currently stored at Chornobyl NPP site in a wet spent fuel storage facility (ISF-1), which was commissioned in 1986. ISF-1 lifetime expires at the end of 2025. Therefore, a new dry spent fuel storage facility (ISF-2) was constructed to ensure long-term safe storage of all spent fuel at ChNPP site. Nuclear fuel transport from ISF-1 to ISF-2 will start after ISF-2 commissioning, which is planned for September 2019.

Dry spent fuel storage facility (ISF-2)

ISF-2 is designed to accept, prepare for storage and directly store sent fuel assemblies (SFA) ad additional spent absorbers accumulated at Chornobyl NPP.

ISF-2 will provide acceptance for storage, preparation for storage and storage for over 100 years of more than 21000 RBMK-1000 SFAs (high-power pressure tube reactor) with a capacity of 2500 SFA per year.

ISF-2 consists of two parts:

  1. Spent fuel processing facility (SFPF). SFPF is designed to prepare for storage and packaging of about 21 000 SFAs, 2000 additional spent absorbers and over 23000 extension rods from ChNPP units 1, 2, 3 and from ISF-1. The facility is designed to provide a minimum annual productivity for processing of 2500 SFAs or additional spent absorbers.
  2. Spent fuel storage area (SFSA). SFSA performs the following operations:
  •  transport of canisters filled with sent fuel from SFPF to SFSA by means of the canister manipulation and transport system (CMTS)
  •  canister loading into horizontal concrete storage modules (CSM) with the design resource of 100 years
  • storage of canisters with nuclear fuel during 10 years.

ISF-2 construction is funded by the Nuclear Safety Account of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.