Burn the red forest around Chernobyl
Reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl plant exploded on April 26, 1986, contaminating a large part of Europe. After this disaster, the authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and a large area covering more than 2,000 square kilometers remained abandoned. Three other reactors at the plant continued to operate after the tragedy. The plant was shut down in 2000, marking the end of all industrial activities in Chernobyl and the area had been declared closed. But many people, especially the elderly, despite the prohibitions, have returned to the central areas. Four years ago the site had been covered by a protective steel shield that limits radioactive leaks, called New Safe Confinement.
But what happened then was not enough, the month of April saw numerous arson attacks igniting in the wooded area around Chernobyl. In 2018 on such an occasion, the authorities reassured the population and public opinion by declaring that there was no danger. But this time the data revealed an increase in radioactivity, causing a peak of emissions up to 16 times higher than normal, as released by Yegor Firsov, head of the Ukrainian ecological inspection service, providing a video of the Geiger counter that shows values of 0.14 and then 2.3, therefore 16 times higher than usual: “There is bad news. Radiation is above the norm at the site of the fire. As you can see in the video, the indicators indicate 0.14 and 2.3 “.
The flames invaded more than 20 hectares of forest land located around the damaged power plant, about one hundred kilometers north of the capital Kiev, reports AFP. The emergency services had initially ensured that there was no danger. While admitting to having serious “difficulties” to intervene. Authorities say they have secured communities living in the surrounding area and said there is no radioactivity hazard. Two planes, a helicopter and 130 firefighters have been mobilized to fight the fire, while Ukrainian law enforcement officers have identified a person suspected of being the perpetrator of the fire and a criminal case has been opened, it is about a 27 year old who now faces up to 5 years in prison for the crime of environmental destruction. Chernobyl has now become a tourist attraction, last year over 100,000 tourists came to visit the area, attracted by the hit series of the same name Sky-Hbo. An analysis conducted in 2019 by drones to measure the radioactivity of the Chernobyl Red Forest revealed the presence of some radioactive “hot zones”, in areas once used to separate contaminated soil. The radiation within these areas is so high that a few hours spent here would deliver “allowed” levels of radiation to an adult in a year.
According to a study by the French research center ISRN, the radioactive cloud that emitted due to the fires did not just pass over Ukraine, but reached much of Europe, including Italy. The radioactivity rate, although higher than normal, would not be dangerous: “It would be of the order of 200 GBq 5 released between April 3, 2020 at 12:00 and April 13, 2020 at 12:00. The simulations carried out show a good agreement between the measurements provided by the Ukrainians and the modeling results. On this basis, the ISRN simulations indicate that the air masses from the area of fires that occurred on April 5 and 6 were able to reach France on the evening of the 7th April 2020 “.
Maurizio Donini (https://www.mauriziodonini.it)