At Chernobyl, Building a Shelter for a Shelter The ruined Chernobyl nuclear facility still contains some 200 tons of radioactive fuel. A "sarcophagus" -- a steel and concrete shell built soon after the disaster to contain the radiation is increasingly unstable. Engineers plan to slide an enormous Quonset hut-shaped cover over a breached reactor.

Remembering Chernobyl, 20 Years Later

NPR marks the anniversary of the worst nuclear accident with a look at Chernobyl, then and now.

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At Chernobyl, Building a Shelter for a Shelter

April 21, 20064:00 PM ET

Heard on All Things Considered

At Chernobyl, Building a Shelter for a Shelter

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The ruined Chernobyl nuclear facility still contains some 200 tons of radioactive fuel. A "sarcophagus" -- a steel and concrete shell built soon after the disaster to contain the radiation is increasingly unstable.

Engineers plan to slide an enormous Quonset hut-shaped cover over a breached reactor to keep more radiation from reaching the atmosphere. NPR's Melissa Block talks to Warren Stern of the U.S. State Department.

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Special Series

Remembering Chernobyl, 20 Years Later

NPR marks the anniversary of the worst nuclear accident with a look at Chernobyl, then and now.