The government of the U.S.S.R. reacted to the disaster by initially denying the accident and trying to cover it up as quickly as possible. They began construction of the sarcophagus as soon as the fires were extinguished. Approximately 10, 000 people worked 24 hours a day for five and a half months building the tomb around the burnt out reactor. The government then established a 36 mile wide restricted zone around Chernobyl, and surroundings towns and cities were quickly evacuated as news of the accident spread.

Unfortunately, dangers still exist at Chernobyl today. The sarcophagus, once estimated to last for 30 years, has begun to rapidly deteriorate. There are three primary dangers that result from the condition of the sarcophagus. The first is dust. Many worry that a collapse of the structure would send thousands of tiny radioactive particles flying into the air again, putting more people at risk. The dust, initially dumped there in an attempt to put out the fire, now representsents a new danger. The second major concern is water. No one knows exactly how much water has leaked in through cracks over the past 10 years, but there is evidence that a great deal is now inside the structure. The Current Digest of The Post-Soviet Press reported on May 29, 1996, that "The underground part of the sarcophagus is wholly if not partially under water....Water is eroding the fuel containing mass, and the concentration of cesium and isotopes of uranium and plutonium in that mass is increasing year by year..." The water destroys many of the instruments used to monitor the conditions inside, and the risk of contaminating ground water continues to increase. The greatest and final concern is the nuclear fuel itself. Specialists disagree on the amount that was ejected during the explosion and amount that remains in the reactor. Most scientists agree however, that steps should be taken to discover the amount that remains so that its security can be assured.

On June 29, 1997, at a G-7 meeting in Denver, Colorado, the Shelter Implementation Plan was established. Governments of the G-7 nations decided to cooperatively fund the 300 million dollar project to prevent a future accident at Chernobyl. There has been no decision made as to what will ultimately be done. The two choices, building a new sarcophagus or removing the materials and burying them, will be evaluated after close observation of the present conditions. Unfortutunately, Chernobyl reactor number 4 still has extremely high, persistent levels of radiation which make any prolonged activity there dangerous. Research groups are currently working to develop reliable robotics technology to initially, make 3-dimensional maps of the inside of the sarcophagus, and ultimately, remove the radioactive materials from the structure.