Outer shell of Belarusian nuclear power plant reactors designed to survive aircraft crash

The outer protective shell of reactors of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be able to survive the impact of a falling aircraft. The statement was made by Eduard Svirid, Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 1 December.

For instance, the double hermetically sealed protective shell has been built in case of an emergency involving the reactor’s vessel. “The internal protective shell is 1.8 meters thick. It is designed to protect you and me from the reactor if something happens to it. Then we have a gap 1.2 meters wide and the external protective shell, which is 0.8 meters thick. It is designed to protect the reactor from a possible external impact, for instance, terrorists intent on dropping an aircraft on top of the power plant. The shell is designed to withstand external explosions, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes,” said Eduard Svirid.

The specialist stressed that a number of barriers are available as part of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to prevent the propagation of radioactive elements into the environment. “Nuclear industry experts call it deep tiered protection of the environment against radiation,” explained Eduard Svirid.

The specialist reminded that the place to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant had been chosen most carefully. The location near the town of Ostrovets has been chosen because there are no factors that prohibit the construction of the nuclear power plant or make it complicated.