Putting A Lid On Chernobyl 293
slicer622 writes "Chernobyl is finally getting a containment structure (Washington Post). Billed as the largest moveable structure ever built, its designed to help take apart the wreckage and keep most of the radioactive material from spreading. It will be 800 feet across, and 300 feet high and will cost $800 mil."
Re:Hundred Years? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is actually really good design.
The first sarcophagus was built in great haste over a hot reactor. The article points out there there are huge holes in the roof, but doesn't point out that the holes are a feature of the design, not a bug. If it were air-tight it would melt.
It has been nearly 20 years, and the sarcophagus has done its job well. Conditions are much better, and it is time for a new containment structure that addresses the current requirements.
In 100 years when the new structure is worn out, it will be time to reevaluate the conditions, and build a permenant enclosure. Suggestions I've heard are that a simple (but large) sand pile might be the best option at that time (presumably waterproofed on the outside).
The requirement for a 100 year lifespan for the current enclosure is a good one. Any longer, and you end up designing something that has to perform two very different jobs.
Photos and Poetry from Pripyat. The worker's town. (Score:5, Insightful)
Shocking and worth a read / look.
How wonderful... (Score:5, Insightful)
to go there and die fighting with fire and radiation. Many lost their homes and were evacuted to the town i lived in. We got lucky - the wind was in the other direction. Nevertheless streets had to be washed literally - trucks were spraying water everywhere trying to wash off the radioactive dust.
Many thousands of people died in Chernobyl. Many more are STILL dying from this disaster. It was a tragedy. Please don't joke about it. It's beyond "dark humor" IMHO.
Re:Hundred Years? (Score:2, Insightful)
Well first of all we did learn how to split the atom [nuclearfiles.org] and how to fuse several of them together [doe.gov]. We also learned how to make materials that can conduct electricity without resistance [superconductors.org] at fairly high temperatures. We can travel underwater [ussnautilus.org] for months at a time without coming to the surface. We managed to get to outer space and visit the moon [nasm.edu]. Some of our creations have even left the solar system [nasa.gov].
Not only that, we also have devices [about.com] as small as a match-head that can do billions of calculations every second. These devices can be put together into a machine that can hold their own [com.com] against the best chess players in the world. People can not only fly, but many do so for less than a week's wages and they travel from one part of the world to another in just a few hours, going faster than sound can travel in some instances. There are now devices [bell-labs.com] which can create light so intense and organized that it can cut through just about any substance. Many diseases which have killed billions of people in their childhood have been eradicated [who.int]. We have managed to learn how to replace broken-down organs [applesforhealth.com] in order to prolong life and even how to make copies [howstuffworks.com] of people and animals.
In short, we have come a long way in the past 100 years. If you were to bring someone from 1902 to the present they would most likely be utterly astounded by what we have accomplished in so short of a time. Many theorists already have some ideas of how we might be able to eventually "teleport" physical objects, they have done it for information [caltech.edu] and are seeking to expand it further. Where will we be in 100 years? 1000 years? I'm not sure, but judging from the past 100 years it would not surprise me to find out that a lot of the discoveries that you have just scoffed at are around in a century, or even less.
Re:Thats All Great but.... (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't see how having a new one over it could make it any