WORLD’S LARGEST MOVABLE LAND-BASED STRUCTURE – CHERNOBYL NSC

The Chernobyl New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a structure built to confine the remains of the number 4 reactor unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which was destroyed during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The structure also enclosed the temporary shelter structure (sarcophagus) that was built around the reactor immediately after the disaster. The NSC was constructed 590 feet west of reactor 4, and slid into place. Sliding of the structure along foundation rails was a difficult process. It was pushed on Teflon pads by hydraulic pistons, and guided by lasers. The NSC is the world’s largest land-based structure ever moved. By the numbers: Ø  Weight: 40,000 tons; roughly the weight of 3 Eiffel Towers, 107 fully loaded 747s, or the USS Missouri Battleship Ø  Height: 590 feet tall; roughly the height of the Seattle Space Needle or the Washington Monument Ø  Length: 530 feet; roughly one and a half football fields Ø  Cost: $2.3 billion contributed by more than 40 nations