Safety Improvements at the Chornobyl Shelter
 |
Worker Protection - Dust Suppression |
 |
Suppression of the radioactive dust inside the shelter is crucial for worker safety. Radiation and chemical changes in the fuel mass continue to turn some of the uranium into radioactive dust. The dust endangers shelter workers and can escape through the structure's holes. Should the shelter collapse, a radioactive dust cloud could endanger workers across the Chornobyl site.
 Fig. 4 - The United States is supplying a prototype nuclear criticality monitoring system to determine whether uncontrolled fission reactions are taking place inside the shelter around Chornobyl's ruined reactor Unit 4. The two types of detector arrays used are shown outside their stainless steel tubular housing. |
The United States already is addressing the third need: equipment to support radiological cleanliness in the shelter's peripheral areas, such as access ways and staging areas. The United States is providing commercially available sprayers and vacuums to clean these relatively uncontaminated areas and keep them clean. These measures will reduce workers' radiation exposure.
Three airless sprayers are at Chornobyl for workers to use in the periodic application of fixatives and decontamination solutions to frequently populated areas of the shelter. Airless sprayers are activated by a pump rather than an air compressor.
The United States is providing two types of high-efficiency filtered vacuum cleaners capable of absorbing particulates. Two Nilfisk vacuums are on their way to Chornobyl. Early in CY 1998, the plant will receive the more complex Cavity Plus vacuum, which uses water vapor to clean surfaces as it vacuums. Total cost of the associated equipment is about $400,000.
| | The 1986 Disaster/The Unstable Shelter | Closure of the Chornobyl Plant | Preventing Collapse of the Shelter | Worker Protection | Additional Safety Projects | |
|
