That thing just wasn't designed or built well enough to last.

It's not the "sarcophagus", but it is part of the hastily-built covering for other parts of the plant that was just slapped together in the wake of the original accident.

because the original design, as are all reactors, was under-designed for the disaster scenarios that supposedly could not happen, as actually designing and building reactors that could safely malfunction and self contain their spew for the time periods required would be ridiculously expensive.

for the disaster scenarios that supposedly can't happen. It would be ridiculously expensive to design aircraft that were actually safe, and the technology is just as dangerous as it was 60 years ago.

Aviation disasters 1946-present (tilt 20º counterclockwise to simulate bias of anti-nuclear hysteria).

There are substantial differences between the soviet reactor design and western reactors. What could (and did) happen there is very different from what could happen here.

And the latest designs most certainly can "safely malfunction and self contain their spew for the time periods required".

"When the Chernobyl nuclear reactor melted down in 1986, it spread radioactive fallout across a wide area. But a new study says that the amount of radioactive material left on plants by Chernobyl pales in comparison with the radium and polonium found naturally in tobacco, ITWire reported June 7.

Greek researcher Constantin Papastefanou found that tobacco plants contain up to 1,000 times more radioactive radium and polonium than the radioactive cesium fallout from Chernobyl left on plants. Polonium is considered one of the most deadly radioactive elements known to man, but is only harmful when inhaled or ingested.

“Many scientists believe that cancer deaths among smokers are due to the radioactive content of tobacco leaves and not to nicotine and tar,” according to Papastefanou, a researcher at the Atomic and Nuclear Physics Laboratory at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki."

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/tobacco/more-natural-radiation-in

(Buzzkill apology.)