The Fire in the Exclusion Zone Bypassed the Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility

Large-scale wildfires, which lasted in the woods of the Chornobyl Zone during April 4-15, did not affect the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF) construction site.

On April 15, 2020, according to the State Emergency Service, the fire was extinguished, but the grass litter and bushes remained smouldering. According to the “Energoatom” press service, the distance from the nearest smoldering spots to the site of CSFSF is 10-15 km, and therefore the storage is safe.

No exceedances of reference levels of radionuclide concentration in the air in the area where the CSFSF is being built were detected.

The site is located in the Exclusion Zone on the territory of the former Chornobyl NPP and is managed by “Energoatom”.

Currently, up to 40 people work during the day to complete the storage. They were fully provided with primary firefighting equipment and provided additional fire safety briefings and contingency plans. The state of fire safety is monitored by Energoatom management through the monitoring of dispatching services.

CSFSF facilities are 97% ready. Completion of construction, testing of systems and equipment and commissioning of the Centralized Storage are planned for this year.

According to Energoatom