The foundations of the concrete sarcophagus covering the No. 4 unit at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant are weakening, but not close to collapse, according to Artur Korneyev, the deputy director of operations at the plant. The claim was made to counter news reports that the roof of the sarcophagus was about to collapse.
According to Korneyev it is the foundations, not the roof, that pose the concern. These are weakening year by year, but there has been no serious deterioration, he claimed.
In December 1997, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced that repair work on the sarcophagus for the damaged reactor could start in April, after donor nations had added a further $167 million to the $337 million promised by the G7 economic group of countries.
The Ukraine government said the project will cost $760 million and take ten years to complete. Specialists have calculated that the sarcophagus contains around 34 t of radioactive dust. Around 4000 m3 of radioactive waste was removed from the tomb in 1997.