Another core catcher for Belarusian nuclear station on its way

         The Volgodonsk-based branch Atommash (part of Atomenergomash, which is the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom) is in the process of shipping components of the core catcher for the second power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA reports. Once assembled, the core catcher will be 14 meters high, 6.5 meters in diameter and will weigh about 760 tonnes. The two largest components of the core catcher have been delivered by trucks to a special wharf in Volgodonsk and loaded onto a freight vessel, said the source.
          The Volgodonsk-based enterprise has been making molten core catchers since 2010. The core catcher is a specialized system designed to protect nuclear power plants. The device protects load-bearing structures of the hermetic shell from thermomechanical impact of the molten core, which temperature can exceed 2,000C during an emergency. The conical structure is designed to catch and keep liquid and solid radioactive materials if an accident destroys the reactor. The device will keep dangerous radioactive elements from leaking out of the shell even in the direst of emergencies.