Why it matters: It is one of the most toxic places in the world due to the destruction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been able to immediately verify allegations of radioactive dust in areas of the area known as “Red Forest”, but is going to send a team to the area to assess the damage. Petro Kotin, CEO of the Ukrainian nuclear power company Energoatom, at one of the Red Forest points in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Photo: Energoatom / Twitter Yes, but: Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA Director-General for Nuclear Surveillance, said in a statement on Saturday that despite the “increase in the level of radioactive contamination… due to non-compliance with radiation protection requirements and strict access procedures”. the radiation state was “within limits” for the site. What they say: Valery Simyonov, chief security engineer for the Chernobyl nuclear site, told the New York Times on Saturday that Russian troops had “ignored” engineers’ warnings about the dangers of digging trenches after seizing control.
“They came and did what they wanted” in the area around the plant, which is about 80 miles north of Kiev, Simyonov said. Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ugolkov told CNN, who visited Chernobyl, that Russian troops “went to the Red Forest and carried radioactive material in their shoes.” “Other places are fine, but the radiation increased here, because they lived here,” Ugolkov added.
The big picture: Ukrainian officials say Russian troops forced about half of Chernobyl officials to stay at the facility for more than three weeks before finally releasing the 64 workers late last month.
About 170 members of the Ukrainian National Guard were also held hostage in the basement of the station, according to the BBC, which visited the area this week. Oleksandr Lobada, the factory’s radiation supervisor, told the outlet engineers “they had to negotiate constantly” with the Russian forces and “try hard not to offend them in order to allow our personnel to manage the facility”.
Looking back: The plant lost direct power and had to rely on emergency diesel generators for three days in early March after the power lines were destroyed – raising concerns that cooling of the radioactive material stored there could be disrupted. there is a risk of leakage of radioactivity that could be carried by the wind to other parts of Europe.
Lobada told the BBC that when the site lost power, it moved to “find fuel to keep the generator running” by “stealing” part of it from Russian forces. “If we had lost power, it could have been catastrophic,” Oleksandr said. “Radioactive material could have been released.”
It is worth noting: Although Chernobyl is not an active power plant, the sarcophagus above the reactor that exploded in the nuclear disaster must be retained to prevent further radioactive leaks, according to CNN.
A significant amount of spent nuclear fuel must be taken care of at the plant.
What to watch out for: Ukrainian officials say “it has not yet been possible to restore the operation of the radiation and other sensors due to the lack of required maintenance and other specialized personnel,” according to Grossi. Go deeper … Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine
