Continuation of a recent story - from the Telegraph / Yahoo!News:
"Chernobyl unable to prevent radiation leak after Russian strike
Chernobyl’s protective shell can no longer block radiation from leaking out following a Russian drone strike earlier this year, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said.
The massive shield covering the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster has lost its “primary safety functions, including the confinement capability”, inspectors have discovered.
In February, Ukraine accused Russia of targeting the power plant, which is about 130km north of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
Footage showed a kamikaze Shahed-style drone crashing into the shelter’s roof, causing severe damage and sparking a fire.
The Kremlin denied the claim at the time. Ukraine, which is still in control of the site, reported that radiation levels did not increase.
However, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who examined the site this week, said repairs were “essential” to “prevent further degradation” of the nuclear shelter.
Radioactive dust could now leak from the site, inspectors said. While there is no heightened radioactive activity now, they fear the plant is increasingly vulnerable.
Chernobyl’s 25,000-ton steel shell, known as the New Safe Confinement (NSC), covers the remains of reactor four, which suffered an explosive meltdown in 1986, leading to the disaster.
The shell was installed in 2016 following a huge construction project to stop the release of residual radioactivity from the reactor into the atmosphere.
“The mission confirmed that the NSC had lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability, but also found that there was no permanent damage to its load-bearing structures or monitoring systems,” the IAEA said in a statement on Friday.
The structure covers both the reactor and the unstable “sarcophagus” that Soviet authorities hastily built after the disaster. It is one of the largest movable land-based structures ever made, costing £1.25bn and weighing twice as much as the Eiffel Tower.
Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, said that “limited temporary repairs” have been carried out, but “timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety”.
The repairs are expected to take place in 2026 and a “full restoration” will be carried out once the war ends, the IAEA added..."
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