This is the sarcophagus that entombs the ruined Unit 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. When the reactor melted down during unauthorized research on April 26, 1986, Soviet authorities in Moscow tried to keep it a secret. It was only when radiation monitors in Sweden began to go off and U.S. spy satellites showed the giant plume of smoke that the news finally got out. Even then, most people in Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and Russia itself, were kept in the dark for days. Because the winds were blowing to the north, most of the radiation fell on Belarus and parts of Russia since Chornobyl is located on the far northern edge of Ukraine. Nonetheless, Ukraine was stuck with the mess and the worst contaminated areas, now known as the "Chornobyl footprint." Whole cities had to be abandoned.

To contain the radiation and prevent rain water from making the disaster even worse, the Soviets built a giant container around the reactor that is know as the sarcophagus. It was built by a combination of young military draftees and Soviet workers who were not told the risk. It was also built in a huge hurry and under horrible conditions and high radiation that led to massive increases in cancer among workers.