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Chernobyl wildfires are still burning

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Original Chernobyl disaster was April 26, 1986 -- 34 years ago. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is approximately 2,600 km² or circa 1,000 sq mile.

Chernobyl fires still burning on anniversary of accident (DW): On Sunday, firefighters were focusing on the "containment of two cells" of smouldering trees and brush, the State Emergency Service said in a statement. Around 11.5 thousand hectares have been destroyed by the fires, said Ukraine's President Volodymy Zelensky in a tweet on Sunday. The damage was "terrible" he added.

Chernobyl still burns
https://www.greenpeace.org/international...radiation/

EXCERPT: ... As I am writing this, three weeks after the start of the fires, at least three of the largest fires continue burning. One of them is located close to the site of the old nuclear power plant, only 4 kilometers away from the sarcophagus. Hundreds of ill-equipped firefighters and foresters are currently trying to get the fires in Northern Ukraine under control.

The wind has carried some of the smoke over more populated areas. On the 16th of April, plumes of smoke caused smog in Kyiv, 250 kilometers away and although they did not exceed norms, higher levels of radioactivity than usual were detected. The smoke and ash have also crossed borders: the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority registered a small increase of caesium-137 concentrations in the air in Norway.

Increased activity of Caesium-137 and other radionuclides in the air can lead to a rise in levels of cancer. Whoever can smell the fire could also inhale these radioactive substances. So yes, potentially dangerous radionuclides are travelling with the fire haze.

[...] Close to the fires, firefighters and local people are exposed to risks from both smoke inhalation and radiation. Cities like Kyiv are exposed to the health impact of inhaling smoke in the short term and in the longer term, risk internal irradiation through contaminated berries, mushrooms and milk bought on the local markets. No-one is immune from radioactive products getting into their homes.

The consequences of Chernobyl are still here. People are at risk [...] The Greenpeace Russia firefighting squad has helped several times to extinguish the fires on contaminated territories. This year, our firefighters have not been able to go on site to help due to the coronavirus pandemic. These forest fires are burdening an emergency ministry already in the midst of a health crisis. This goes to show that other emergencies can be exacerbated by nuclear-related incidents – a situation that we have little or no control over.

Nuclear-related risks themselves are exacerbated by a lack of transparency: at the beginning of the fires, the first official accounts minimized the areas on fire by about 600 times. Secrecy was one of the reasons why the Chernobyl disaster was so severe in 1986 [...] Chernobyl will continue to pose a threat for many generations to come. (MORE - details)


https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/osBKzPKNR1M
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