Status: 02/25/2022 1:10 p.m
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, paratroopers secured the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant. While Russia emphasizes that the radioactive levels are normal, Ukraine reports increased radiation.
After capturing the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Russian paratroopers secure the site. A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense said that specialists from a Ukrainian guard battalion are still on duty after consultation. There are no abnormalities, the radioactive levels are normal, he said.
On the other hand, the responsible Ukrainian authority announced that they measured significantly increased radiation levels. Because of the situation and the fighting, however, it is impossible to see a reason for this increase. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initially did not comment. Russian troops conquered the exclusion zone around the plant in northern Ukraine that was damaged in 1986 on Thursday.
“Danger depends on the shelling”
“As long as no building is damaged, it’s not a problem,” said nuclear expert Michael Sailer in an interview tagesschau24. Only when the fuel elements in the storage facilities were massively destroyed would there be a massive release of radioactive radiation. It therefore depends on the shelling how great the danger can become, said Sailer.
“If Chernobyl is not controlled, the fuel elements will not be cooled,” Michael Sailer, nuclear expert
Tagesschau 10:30 a.m., 25.2.2022
Because of the fighting around Chernobyl, the Czech nuclear authority convened a crisis team as a precaution. So far, all radioactivity readings are in the normal range, said a spokesman for the SJUB authority in Prague. The experts are currently not anticipating a threat to more distant areas. A whirling up of radioactive substances is conceivable, but serious contamination with radionuclides outside the 30-kilometer exclusion zone is unlikely.
The USA and IAEA are concerned
The United States had expressed concern about the capture of the former nuclear power plant by the Russian military. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “This unlawful and dangerous hostage situation, which could suspend routine conservation and security operations at nuclear waste facilities, is incredibly alarming and very concerning.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also reacted with alarm. Because of the potential risk of accidents, they are following the situation in Ukraine with great concern, the UN organization said. She demanded a maximum of restraint from everyone involved. An unsecured nuclear facility harbors great danger.
On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl was one of the worst disasters in the civil use of nuclear energy. Due to the weather conditions at the time, the former Czechoslovakia was one of the most affected areas. To this day, for example, wild boars from the Bohemian Forest (Sumava) and many mushrooms collected in nature are slightly radioactive. Appropriate limit values apply.