This Thursday, February 24, after fighting near the Chernobyl site in Ukraine, an adviser to the presidency announced that the country had lost control. Chernobyl now in the hands of the Russians, the situation worries.
Chernobyl fell into Russian hands. This Thursday, February 24, as Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine, fighting took place near the Chernobyl site.
The place, in the north of Ukraine, was in 1986 the scene of the greatest nuclear tragedy that the world has known. Now, the plant’s damaged reactor is protected by a concrete screed and the site also houses a lot of radioactive waste.
“Cannot tell if the plant is safe”
This area therefore remains “highly contaminated” today. There is therefore great concern, especially since the intentions of the Russians are not clear. “It is impossible to say if the plant is safe”, announced this Thursday the Ukrainian official, according to his remarks reported by AFP.
Inevitably, such a decision arouses concern beyond the borders of Ukraine. Europe still has the terrible memory of the accident at the power station, the results of which are still controversial to this day.
In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed concern. She indicates, following “the situation with great concern” and called “maximum restraint to avoid any action that would put the country’s nuclear sites in danger“.
Risk of diffusion of radioactive particles
“If the depot was destroyed by artillery strikes from the adversary, radioactive dust would cover Ukraine, Belarus and EU countries,” Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. according to BFMTV.
Concretely, the risk today is not that of seeing the event of April 1986 reproduced. could cause the dispersion of radioactive particlesaccording to Yves Marignac, expert in nuclear issues at the Négawatt association, interviewed by France Info.
For the time being, it is difficult to assess what impact a dispersion of these particles would have, but experts are monitoring the levels of radioactivity very closely. If they were to increase too much around the site, this would, on the other hand, make the work of the agents who ensure the safety and maintenance of the area very complicated.
