1926–1998
○ Natural causes
Author and technical director of the 'Shelter' that encased Chernobyl's ruined Reactor 4
He personally climbed into a 'bathyscaphe' suspended from a crane hook to survey the ruined reactor.
A Soviet nuclear construction engineer from Tambov, he joined VNIPIET in 1953 after graduating from the Leningrad Institute of Civil Engineering and spent his entire career at that one institute. He led the project to remediate the 1957 Kyshtym disaster, and in 1986 became the author and technical director of the 'Shelter' (Sarcophagus) that sealed Chernobyl's Reactor 4 in just 206 days: he personally surveyed the ruined reactor suspended in a 'bathyscaphe' from a crane hook and devised engineering solutions without world precedent. He later served as general director of VNIPIET (1989–1998), contributing to the recovery from the Arzamas explosion and the Kirovakan earthquake.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1953Joined VNIPIET as an engineer
- 1957Led the Kyshtym (Chelyabinsk-65) accident remediation project
- 1985–1989Chief engineer, VNIPIET
- 1986Author and technical director, 'Shelter' (Sarcophagus) project, Chernobyl Reactor 4
- 1989–1998General director, VNIPIET
- 1996Awarded Honoured Builder of the Russian Federation
Related historical events
Designing and building Chernobyl’s Shelter
After Reactor 4 was destroyed at Chernobyl in 1986, Kurnosov, then chief engineer at VNIPIET, became the author and technical director of the Shelter project. The design team considered 18 proposals before choosing one that made maximum use of surviving walls and structures as supports for new walls and roofing. The work proceeded when the condition of damaged structures could not be adequately inspected on site and people could not remain in radiation zones. Kurnosov surveyed the reactor from a “bathyscaphe” suspended from a crane to examine critical structures in high-radiation areas, and led the design team in developing remote construction methods. His design included structural elements that could be seated by their own weight without welding, and methods for locally reinforcing damaged structures to support the roof. Large-diameter steel pipes, rather than conventional trusses, formed the main roof structure over the reactor hall, and were installed remotely without sending workers into the danger zone. The Shelter was accepted by a government commission in December 1986. The design enabled rapid isolation and allowed Units 1, 2, and 3 to continue operating, but uncertainty about the damaged structures and the inability to weld meant that it was not fully sealed; concerns remained that radioactive dust could escape through gaps.