Cork Lord mayor set to visit Chernobyl ahead of anniversary

The Lord Mayor of Cork will visit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant next week as he leads a historic Irish civic delegation to the region ahead of the 30th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident.

During a specially cleared visit to the heart of Chernobyl’s vast nuclear exclusion site, Cllr Chris O’Leary will be briefed on the progress of the €1.5bn steel and concrete shield, or sarcophagus, being built to contain radiation in the plant’s number four reactor, which exploded in April 1986.

A French-led team of scientists, engineers, and construction workers are building the shield, which, when complete next year, will be twice the size of Croke Park and tall enough to house the Statue of Liberty.