New Safe Confinement

Lore & Background

The first shelter was an emergency measure, built between May and November 1986 under extreme conditions, and was never meant to be permanent. It was moderately successful: up to 95% of the original radioactive inventory of reactor 4 is estimated to remain inside the ruins. But it deteriorated over the years and leaned on a building that was structurally unsound.

In 1992 the government of Ukraine held an international competition for a replacement and received 394 proposals, with 19 finalists but no clear winner. A feasibility study in 1996 recommended an arch built off-site and slid over the old structure.

In 1997 an international team of experts drew up the Shelter Implementation Plan. The work was delayed by missing infrastructure in the Exclusion Zone, by bureaucratic hurdles and by a dispute over the choice of contractor. Workers stabilised the roof and western wall of the old shelter between 2004 and 2008.

Reader's Guide

The French consortium Novarka designed and built the structure, and construction was completed at the end of 2018. The whole plan is estimated to cost around €2.15 billion, of which the New Safe Confinement accounts for €1.5 billion. It is supported by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development manages the decommissioning funds.

The word confinement was chosen deliberately. Most reactor buildings are designed to contain radioactive gases, whereas the main purpose here is to confine solid radioactive waste. The structure is also meant to keep water out and to protect the reactor from outside influence.

On 14 February 2025, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, a drone attack significantly damaged the structure, breaching both its internal and external layers.

Did You Know?

• In 2015 the international community was trying to close a funding gap of €100 million.