Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus or Shelter Structure was a massive steel and concrete structure covering the nuclear reactor number 4 building of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was designed to limit radioactive contamination of the environment following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, by encasing the most dangerous area and protecting it from climate exposure. It was located within a large restricted area known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The original Russian name is Объект "Укрытие", which means sheltering or covering, as opposed to sarcophagus.The sarcophagus locked in 200 tons of radioactive lava-like corium, 30 tons of highly contaminated dust and 16 tons of uranium and plutonium.By 1996 the structure had deteriorated to the point where it was deemed impossible to repair it. Radiation levels were estimated to be as high as 10000 röntgens per hour.