After Russia invaded Ukraine, fighting broke out at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where radioactivity from the world's worst nuclear disaster is still escaping. It was 36 years ago.
According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, Russian soldiers took possession of the site following a tough confrontation with Ukrainian national guards protecting the deactivated plant on Thursday.
The condition of the plant’s infrastructure, including a containment bunker and a nuclear waste storage, is unknown.
According to Igor Novikov, a former assistant to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the threat posed by the crippled nuclear reactor to Europe must be regarded very seriously.
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“First and foremost, I’d say we need assistance in conveying the risks to our Western allies. “Ukraine has 15 operating nuclear reactors, and Chernobyl has radioactive waste: one mortar miss, and everyone in Europe is facing a massive nuclear disaster,”.
“I’d encourage everyone to talk to their elected officials, as well as their friends and peers.” Everyone should realise that this isn’t just about Ukraine; Europe as a whole is in grave danger.”
“The 1986 Tragedy”
According to a source acquainted with current estimates, Russian shelling damaged a Chernobyl nuclear waste site, causing an increase in radiation levels. The rise could not be verified right away.
According to a senior American intelligence officer, Russian forces at Chernobyl were attempting to connect up with other Russian forces throughout Ukraine by pushing to Kyiv, 130 kilometres (80 miles) distant. The officials were not allowed to speak publicly about the delicate topic since they were not authorised to do so.
Between the Belarus-Ukraine border and Kiev, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) woodland zone encircling the shutdown plant, is located.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated Ukrainian officers fought to defend it “to prevent a replay of the catastrophe of 1986.” He referred to it as a “declaration of war against the entire continent of Europe.”
Dust contaminated with radioactivity-
“It is inconceivable to declare that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe,” Podolyak remarked after a “absolutely mindless attack.” He cautioned that Russian authorities might accuse Ukraine for the site’s damage or orchestrate provocations from the country.
Any attack on the waste deposit, according to Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashenko, might result in radioactive dust being spread across “the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and EU countries.”
Russian officials made no public comments about the combat, despite the fact that they have released little little about their operations in Ukraine and have not revealed their goals.
“I can’t imagine how it would be in Russia’s interest to allow any facilities at Chernobyl to be damaged,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC.
Lyman is especially concerned about wasted fuel stockpiled at the facility, which has been idle since 2000. He warned that if cooling pumps lose power or fuel storage tanks are damaged, the consequences might be disastrous.
The dangers of nuclear fallout-
On April 26, 1986, the power plant’s Reactor No. 4 exploded and caught fire in the middle of the night, destroying the structure and sending radioactive matter high into the sky.
The Soviet authorities compounded the disaster by failing to inform the public about what had occurred, upsetting European nations as well as the Soviet people. Despite the danger of fallout, the two million residents of Kyiv were not warned, and the world learnt of the calamity only after increased radioactivity was detected in Sweden.
In 2017, a large shelter was built over the building containing the destroyed reactor to contain any remaining radiation from the disaster. Inside the shelter, robots are dismantling the shattered reactor and collecting the radioactive waste.
The reactors are anticipated to be decommissioned until 2064. Ukraine planned to build a centralised storage facility for spent material from the country’s remaining nuclear power facilities in the abandoned zone.
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