March 18, 2011

Chernobyl shows Japan the difficult task ahead

25 years after Russia's disaster, experts are still working to entomb the deadly reactor that still releases radioactivity

(CBS News) 

From the initial panic at Chernobyl to the lack of a permanent solution 25 years later, it's a lesson in just how hard it is to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle.

Today, radioactivity still leaks from the crumbling structure hastily put up to cover the damaged reactor -- just as it did three years ago, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Plante, who visited the site in 2008.

"Right now the dose rate is something like 200 times over the background you'd have in Washington, D.C.," said Laurin Dodd, of Chernobyl's Shelter Implementation Plan, in 2008.

Complete coverage: Disaster in Japan

Experts say that's about the same as 16 chest x-rays in one day -- and the effect is cumulative.

A more permanent solution to entomb the Chernobyl reactor has been planned for years. It's a massive steel dome, taller than the Statue of Liberty and wider than the St. Louis Gateway Arch.  Construction would take place at a distance because of the radiation, and then rolled into place section by section over the still deadly reactor.

"60 Minutes" Overtime: The "sarcophagus" solution

But the dome hasn't yet begun to take shape. The U.S. and the European Union are still struggling to raise the $2 billion it will cost.

Photos: Chernobyl - visit to a nuclear ghost town

In Japan, the Fukushima complex will also have to be entombed, and the radiation levels will make that very difficult.

"These reactors are never going to be used again," said James Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment's Nuclear Policy Program. "They're going to have to be entombed for a significant length of time before anything's able to be done about them."

And in Japan, officials are dealing not with just one rogue reactor, but six of them.

"I would hope that we would be able to clean those up with less difficulty than we faced with the one reactor at Chernobyl, but I don't know," said nuclear energy expert Professor Cham Dallas, of the University of Georgia. "With the twists and turn, I don't know that that's a guarantee."

That still unfinished containment dome at Chernobyl is only projected to last 100 years. And Chernobyl, like the Japanese plant at Fukushima, will remain radioactive -- and deadly -- for thousands of years.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

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Add a Comment See all 13 Comments
by truth2141 March 19, 2011 3:16 PM EDT
i have my facts straight there is a difference between damage to the plant and fuel damage. How many plants have fuel that has cladding damge and has partially melted? That would be units 1,2 and 3

This article is ridiculous.Chernobyl and thsi disaster will not have much of anything in common. It will be more like TMI. Cool the plant until the fuel can be unloaded and then shut er down
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by erasmus111 March 19, 2011 3:41 PM EDT
There are FOUR.
by truth2141 March 19, 2011 11:05 AM EDT
the effects of this accident when it is all said and done will be contained within the fence of the plant. it is worst thant TMI which was completely contained within the reactor but no where near Chernobyl where the core exploded caught fire and spewed waste all over the country side what a stupid article.

Once normal cooling systems are restored the spent fuel will be completely covered and the radiation levels will drop dramitically. If containment vessel dameg occurred at unit 2 and that is still an if there will have to be efforts to entomb/contain that structure.

Three plants have fuel damage not six

get your frigging facts straight before you write an article.
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 March 19, 2011 1:27 PM EDT
Three plants have fuel damage not six

get your frigging facts straight before you write an article.
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I think that you should get your facts straight. All six are damaged. and there are four that have fuel damage.
by mecanik-2009 March 19, 2011 9:18 AM EDT
The world will look back for a thousand years and talk about how stupid we were back then. They will have this huge reminder to look at and wonder why we ever made it in the first place.
Reply to this comment
by ddaryl March 19, 2011 8:38 AM EDT
now imagine a scenario of massive destruction where humanity is struggling to survive as a species but now we have 1000's of nuclear reactors contaminating the landscape world wide.

I know we love our gadgets and power, but it will cost us dearly one day. Something I wish we wouldn't over look. Personally I'd be willing to take a few steps backwards before moving forward. Problem is the majority on this planet have no intention of sacrificing anything for the benefit of the species long term survival. AND those in power definitley have no intention of taking care of humanity first unless there is profit to be made.
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by lucifersshadow March 19, 2011 6:28 AM EDT
Perhaps in Chernobyl engineers should consider digging a shaft below the plant, far enough down to avoid a cave in, but close enough so that a cave in can be created, and the whole core then falls to a safe depth, and could then be completely buried.
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by greco99-2009 March 19, 2011 5:02 AM EDT
It will be very difficult to entomb this plant because it sits on top of water.

If, over time, hot radioactive material hits the water, or if the beach erodes there will be a very large steam explosion.

The material will need to entombed in souch a way that it can later be removed. The cost will be very high, but the consequence of inaction are unthinkable. Companies at fault -- including GE -- should pay. their liability waivers should be invalidated based on false safety reports, fraud and deliberate recklessness.
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 March 19, 2011 2:58 AM EDT
"That still unfinished containment dome at Chernobyl is only projected to last 100 years. And Chernobyl, like the Japanese plant at Fukushima, will remain radioactive -- and deadly -- for thousands of years."


This should put an end to thoughts of building any more. There are other ways to get power. They may not be the best, but they are certainly better than this.
Reply to this comment
by roblearns March 19, 2011 12:19 AM EDT
There is no doubt having a radioactive reactor issue around for thousands of years is bad, but so is destroying the planet.

If we are to believe global warming theories, the alternative to nuclear is we all die. In about 100 years.

Or we could just not believe any of it - but that is probably head in the sand thinking, just as believing their is enough clean energy that we could switch to that =pure fantasy.
Reply to this comment
by NinthSt78 March 18, 2011 11:02 PM EDT
Clean, safe, smoke-free, high-tech energy source? Not so fast, folks. It can also turn into the unforgiving nightmare that never ends.
Reply to this comment
by myth1958 March 18, 2011 9:11 PM EDT
How ironic that we as a people haven't learned from the failures in our past: Three Mile Island; Chernobyl; other nuclear catastrophes. But nuke PR is strong - like a 'radioactivity mafia' which hooks us into supporting idiot ideas like putting 6 Japanese nuke plants right on the ocean - facing a major earthquake fault. China is the latest gullible customer - building more nuke plants than anyone and placing them on the Yangtse and other major rivers (like we do here in the US). When the Chinese inevitably have a problem, they'll toxify the water and land for millions with each accident. We as a people ought to re-evaluate if all this toxic nightmare is worth it for cheap power. Better to build windmills, solar panels and natural gas power plants: they won't toxify a region for a thousand years if they fail on us.
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