CRANES AT CHERNOBYL - PaR Systems

1 SHOW REVIEWL ifting and riggingequipment in thespotlight at PLASA 2012,staged at London's EarlsCourtINTERVIEWS pain-based materialhandling specialist andweighing systemsprovider Airpes hasadapted in the wake ofrecessionSHOW PREVIEWNow in its eighth year,LiftEx 2012 takes place29-30 November at theRicoh Arena, Coventry, UKAERIAL WORKPLATFORMSA German-made compacttracked lift was used formaintenance work at aunique facility in New YorkISSUE NUMBER 6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 LIFT & HOISTINTERNATIONALCRANES ISSUE.

2 Overhead CRANES and Hoists Access Platforms Lift Trucks Controls and ComponentsWORK CONTINUESIN THE AFTERMATHOF THE NUCLEARPOWER PLANTDISASTER OF 19865 LIFT AND HOIST INTERNATIONAL special report from one of the mostfascinating overhead crane projects in the years ago I chaired an overhead cranebreakout session at a conference in day concluded with a presentation fromEric Schmieman, who, at the time, was safetymanager at the CHERNOBYL containment project,where overhead CRANES would work in the aftermath ofthe shocking, devastating CHERNOBYL accident thatoccurred on April 26, 1986, destroying Unit 4 at thenuclear power delegates listened as Schmiemanexplained how CRANES would work in thedeconstruction and safe disposal of the accidentconsequences in a New Safe Confinement (NSC)

3 On thesite of the most catastrophic disaster in the history ofcommercial nuclear was hooked on the project and have kept in touchwith Schmieman he works at the global research anddevelopment organisation, Battelle MemorialInstitute ever since. I am delighted that we canpublish in this issue a special report from CHERNOBYL bySchmieman, corresponding author VijayParameswaran, of Bechtel International Systems , Inc.,and their international tender was initiated in 2004 fordesign and construction of the NSC.

4 A subcontract forthe design and manufacture of the main crane systemwas awarded to US-based PaR Systems , of many fascinating dimensions of the projectis the mobile tool platform, which is connected to thecrane carriage. The tool platform is a custom-made tensile truss thatwill serve as a stable platform for remotely operated tools. A robotic armis attached to a rotating mounting plate to allow work to be performedin a complete hemisphere. Remotely operated high radiation cameraswill provide full coverage of the CHERNOBYL plant and all operationsduring the next phase of the project as workers are located remotely andwill perform nearly all operations using authors believe that this is the largest implementation of atensile truss design for these purposes and I certainly can't contestthat.

5 Because it is first of a kind, the manufacturer constructed a 25percent scale prototype in the US, which is this issue's cover more about the project from page HEARDHOW CRANESWOULD WORK INTHEDECONSTRUCTIONAND SAFE DISPOSALOF THE CHERNOBYLACCIDENTCONSEQUENCES IN ANEW SAFECONFINEMENTEDITOR SLETTERRICHARD HOWES, EDITORHOOKEDSUBSCRIPTIONS TO LIFT & HOIST INTERNATIONAL1 year (6 issues) UK & Europe USA & Canada $102 Rest of the World $162 INTERNATIONALLIFT & HOISTSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 ISSUE 6 Lift & Hoist International18 Southbourne GardensLee, London, SE12 8UQ, UK+44 (0)20 8318 7551 PresidentGuy of Business Develo pmentMark Bridger+44 (0)1403 264 Publi sher and EditorRichard Howes+44 (0)20 8318 President of Operations Barbara EditorKatie SalesMark Bridger+44 (0)1403 264 Howes+44 (0)

6 20 8318 CoordinatorFranci The Old Scotgate, 5 Scotgate, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 2YB, Capacity Media LLCP ublisher of Industrial Lift & Hoist, Lift andAccess, and Crane & Rigging Hot Line; and ILHeNews and Lifting 360 eNewslettersSPECIAL REPORT- CRANES AT CHERNOBYL18 LIFT AND HOIST INTERNATIONAL CHERNOBYL nuclear power plant(ChNPP) accident that occurred on April26, 1986 destroyed Unit 4. After theaccident situation was stabilised, it becameapparent that sequestration of the damagedreactor was necessary to minimise long termradiological impact on personnel and theenvironment.

7 A temporary confinementbuilding, the Object Shelter (OS), wasdesigned and constructed between May andNovember primary purpose of the ObjectShelter was to prevent further spreading ofthe radioactive dust and debris. It was builtunder extremely difficult and hazardousconditions and was intended to last 30 completion of construction, thebuilding had more than 1,000 sq m ofopenings that allowed some dust to escapeand water to enter the steel some measures have beentaken in the past 26 years to stabilise thestructure and reduce corrosion, the risk ofcollapse of the Object Shelter continues toincrease over time.

8 Its confinement functionneeds to be performed by a new structure,and the Object Shelter needs to be dismantledin an orderly structural elements beingdismantled will be large and heavy. Nuclearfuel material and other radioactive waste willbe placed in heavy shielded containers. Thedismantling activities and handling of heavyshielded waste disposal casks will requirelarge and sophisticated CRANES that are thesubject of this 1997 the G-7 nations prepared theShelter Implementation Plan (SIP) for theconversion of the OS into an ecologically safesystem.

9 The SIP consists of 22 tasks, thelargest of which is the design andconstruction of a New Safe Confinement(NSC).The NSC will be constructed adjacent tothe OS to minimise radiation doses toconstruction workers, then slid over the OSon a runway system using hydraulic NSC is an enormous arch-shaped steelstructure which will protect the OS from theelements, confine any radioactive dustreleases, and support a massive and uniquecrane system. The approximate dimensions ofthe NSC arch are 250m wide, 150m long, and100m tall.

10 A section of the NSC is illustrated inFigure donor community, consisting of 46countries and organisations, support thework of the SIP. Funds are administered bythe European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD). The facility owner isState Specialised Enterprise ChernobylNuclear Power Plant (ChNPP). Oversight ofSIP work is provided by a ProjectManagement Unit (PMU) staffed byMASSIVEAND UNIQUEThe design and manufacture of the main CRANES system was integral to the New Safe Confinementproject at CHERNOBYL , the scene of a nuclear power plant disaster in April AUTHORSN.