MOSCOW – A gargantuan arch-shaped shelter has begun creeping toward the exploded Chernobyl nuclear reactor, in what represents a significant step toward liquidating the remains of the world’s worst nuclear accident.
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When the shelter is in place, work can begin on dismantling the so-called sarcophagus surrounding the reactor building to contain fallout from the explosion 30 years ago.
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The shelter, which measures 843 feet wide by 354 feet tall, began moving Monday by a system of hydraulic jacks, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which led the 1.5 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) project.
The so-called “New Safe Confinement container” is said to be the largest moveable land-based structure ever built, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which oversaw the project. The arch-shaped structure has a minimum lifespan of 100 years and is made up of 36,000 tonnes of prefabricated metal.
READ MORE: High radiation levels found in Belarus milk, 30 years after Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl explosion spewed a cloud of fallout over much of Europe and left large swaths of Ukraine and Belarus uninhabitable.
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