The destroyed reactor will remain a problem into the next century
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on 26 April 1986, Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider warned about the uncontrollable risks that nuclear power still poses and condemned Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. He advocated driving forward the energy transition and supporting Ukraine in repairing the damaged New Safe Confinement. Ahead of the anniversary, the Federal Environment Ministry is today hosting an international, livestreamed event.
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider commented: "Four decades after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and three-quarters of a century after the global start of nuclear power use, the problems remain the same. Nuclear power is ultimately still an uncontrollable, high-risk technology, and the problem of nuclear waste still hasn't been resolved globally. New nuclear power plants are still not competitive and not viable without state aid. Nuclear power also creates massive dependence on individual countries like Russia. Fortunately we have long since had better and more affordable alternatives like wind and solar power; they are clearly overtaking nuclear power worldwide. Learning from Chernobyl means switching to renewable energy sources."
Today's event commemorating the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl paints a comprehensive picture of the disaster and the impacts and developments that followed. It outlines the current situation and addresses why the issue of nuclear power is more relevant than ever, and why radiological emergency preparedness and response remains crucial in Germany, despite Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power.
Minster Schneider warned: "Damage to nuclear power plants caused by war is unfortunately a risk in these times that cannot be ignored. Germany has to be prepared to respond in an emergency. This also applies to the destroyed reactor at Chernobyl; its New Safe Containment (NSC) was damaged by a drone. International efforts will be required once again to repair the NSC. Germany will be actively involved in the search for a solution. It is in our own interests."
Safely sealing off the damaged reactor and the molten core from the environment is a huge problem, as the Fukushima disaster in Japan demonstrated. In Chernobyl it took around three-and-a-half decades and international financing of over two billion euros to install a safe confinement for the destroyed unit 4. However, the actual problem inside the New Safe Confinement – retrieving and disposing of the molten core and other radioactive waste – has not even been tackled. Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has set back Ukraine’s efforts. The war poses a threat to the nuclear safety at all nuclear power plants across Ukraine.