chernobyl shut down plans continue as belarus plans new nuclear plant

Several months ago I noted that Ukraine signed a $505 million contract with Novarka to build a new shelter for the ruined Chernobyl nuclear reactor.  This new shelter is to replace the hastily constructed sarcophagus that started to crumble and leak radiation 10 years after it was constructed.  It is hoped that the new shelter, due to be completed in 2015, will hold up for 100 years.  The plan, price tag, and completion date have been moving targets for many years.

(This post is illustrated with images of a "walk-through" virtual reality model of the actual Chernobyl disaster site that is located on Second Life.  The "Chernobyl Memorial" was created by virtual world building company Magrathean Technologies.)

On Tuesday, Itar-Tass News Agency expanded on Ukraine's plan for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel from the plant.  The plan calls for the power plant's premises to be completely cleared sometime between 2046 - 2064.  (That's what I call a flexible deadline.)

Also on Tuesday, the Security Council of Belarus announced their final decision to build the first nuclear power plant on their own territory.  Belarus shares a border with Ukraine and was seriously damaged by radioactive winds that contaminated their territory in the days after the accident.  Belarus' moratorium on building domestic nuclear power plants expired as of 2008.  The planned nuclear plant will cost an estimated $4 billion, and will be built by Russian company Atomstroiexport.

The Jamestown Foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor posted an article last week by David Marples, professor of history and classics at the University of Alberta Edmonton.  Marples reported that a site for the new plant has been selected near a village called Kukshynava, located in the Mogilev region. Here's a video of the survey work in progress.

Apparently the first choice -- near the village of Krasnaya Palyana -- had to be scrapped after a survey revealed that the land was too contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster to be safe for building. 

Belarus urgently seeks energy independence after Russia's move last year to double the price Minsk pays for gas imports. At the same time, the people of Belarus suffered greatly in the aftermath of Chernobyl, and continue to pay a heavy medical  and economic price. A number of my Belarusian friends and colleagues believe that the decision to move so quickly toward nuclear power -- especially without some sort of national public referendum -- is bound to stir fears and controversy in communities across Belarus. 

Comments

[Alexandra Prokopenko]

There are several opinions regarding the construction of this plant. Myself, I doubt that this plant will make Belarus less dependent from Russia from energy point of view - the plant is built by a Russian company and for Russian money (governmentary loan), will use Russian fuel and export waste back to Russia. The plant seem to create more dependency then anything else, moreover, Belarus doesn't have enough specialists to run it, means that the labor force will also be attracted from abroad. The possible reason for construction of this plant is more strategic - country with nuclear energetics seems to have more geopolitical "weight". Isn't this what Belarus' authorities want?
Speaking about humanitarian concequences of this construction. Modern Russian reactors are quite safe and nature-friendly, if they are built properly, and treated properly. Hopefully this construction will not be done in a hurry "to fulfill the plan". Otherwise, there are not so many possible negative impacts on people's health by this new plant.

When it comes to Krasnaya Poliana site - I heard it was rejected simply because the soil there was not hard enough to hold such a heavy thing as a nuclear power plant.