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In the end, the structure was able to prevent hundreds of tonnes of radioactive contaminants from getting out. Thirty-one people died of radiation poisoning during or after construction was completed.

The sarcophagus had to be set up as fast as possible — construction only took about five months — and was never built to last. LiveScience reports that the building lacks bolted joints, and openings in the roof have allowed water to seep in and corrode the structure. Now, more than 30 years after its construction, its collapse is imminent.

The Chernobyl disaster widely considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in history, and the nearby cities remain empty to this day. A 2012 UN report found there was widespread radioactive contamination in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus that could have affected millions of people, and thousands of cancer diagnoses has been attributed to the contaminants.

SSE Chernobyl NPP, the company which runs the power plant, said in a statement that the probability of sarcophagus collapse is “very high” and the entire structure needs to be dismantled.

“The structures of Shelter built more than 30 years ago are simply supported and are kept on the supporting blocks only due to the force of gravity,” the statement said.

Any sort of collapse might bring the risk that more radioactive materials are released, so as contractors are planning to dismantle the sarcophagus, parts of it will need to be reinforced before being removed completely.