Authorities in Ukraine say the forest fires burning in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant are under control, but news from Group of Seven nations concerning the site of the April 26, 1986 nuclear power plant disaster was even more positive, as the world powers declared they had secured enough funds to complete the massive project of building a protective cover over the disaster site by November 2017.
Germany's state secretary for the environment Jochen Flasbarth announced that world leaders had pledged an additional $590 million to push closer to completing the “sarcophagus” that will entomb the site. Although an additional $134 million was needed, Fasbarth said he was confident that China and Russia would come forward with contributions they had already promised.
The massive, arching roof that is being constructed will cover a site that is already entombed in a roof that was completed six months after the Chernobyl accident. However, that roof was designed to last 30 years and is already cracking in some places.
The total price tag for the so-called Shelter Implementation Plan stands at $2.34 billion.