An international team led by Greenpeace Germany is investigating radioactivity around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after Russian forces occupied it in March, the environmental organization said. The project was given the green light by the Ukrainian authorities.
Chernobyl was the worst nuclear disaster ever in 1986. “When the Chernobyl reactor exploded in 1986, tiny particles of nuclear fuel fell into the affected areas. Between seven and nine tons of nuclear fuel was pulverized and released into the atmosphere. Today, the deeper one digs around Chernobyl, the more radioactive particles are disturbed,” says Jan Vande Putte, Greenpeace nuclear expert present in Chernobyl.
The trenches and shelters that the Russians dug in this ground full of radioactive particles at the end of February are of concern to Greenpeace. Therefore, the research team will study radioactivity in the abandoned trenches and shelters in the so-called “red forest”, a heavily contaminated zone. According to Greenpeace, about 600 soldiers took action, many of whom needed medical attention.
According to the environmental organization, independent measurements are taking place at the site for the first time since the Russian invasion. They can check whether the classification of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is correct or not. The UN agency says that there was increased radiation, but that it posed a significant danger to the environment and people. Greenpeace has doubts about the independence of the IAEA and its deputy director Mikhail Chudakov, who has long worked for the Russian nuclear company Rosatom.
The results of the investigation will be presented in Kiev on Wednesday.
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