New Security Study for Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement

The International Advisory Group ICG has reviewed materials prepared by contractors for Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement and identified risk factors for the possibility of those contractors falling behind schedule and associated cost increases as the most serious risks to the project.

ICG is happy with a new paper on security within the framework of the project (DBCP) as an effective substitute for the preliminary safety analysis report (POAB). This document could be extremely useful for Ukrainian regulatory bodies, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration, contractors and the bank.

The DBCP is based on information developed by Novarka at its early stages as the project contractor and provides a functional specification of the New Safe Confinement including:

• A list of the SC-1 NSC structures, buildings, major components, systems, communications, etc.
• A description of the specific functions of each NSC component from the above item
• Systematic design criteria and requirements including additional criteria and benchmarks obtained through research and the design process
• Analysis of regulatory and legal frameworks applicable to the NSC design
• Methodology and approach of the contractor to implement the design criteria and requirements
• Design procedures and rationale for project licensing where parts of the project are reviewed by regulatory agencies, including the main building (foundations, arch, cranes, edging) and the NSC complex as a whole (life-support systems and control of the NSC)

A working draft document also considers:

• Cleaning the site to build the arch and its mounting systems
• Dismantling the ventilation tube BT-2
• Construction of infrastructure facilities
• Construction of temporary bases
• Information on main technical and constructive solutions for the NSC, based on Novarka proposals

According to comments by regulators, Novarka is expected to finalize a detailed timeline for the entire NSC design as a way to provide for timely project decisions. A detailed schedule for the design and a listing of required licensing documents and the estimated time of need should also be available.