Radioactivity Spike Could be Triggered if Chernobyl Gets Hit with Missiles, Professor Warns

An environmental radioactivity spike that would be "disastrous" could result from missiles striking the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a professor told Newsweek.

Russia-Ukraine War

Chernobyl has been the center of attention and worries during Russia's war on Ukraine, which has lasted for almost a year. The plant's reactor melted down in April 1986, resulting in the worst nuclear disaster in history. Two devastating explosions resulted from this, and radioactive debris and fuel were released into the vicinity. The region is currently still very radioactive and off-limits to the general public.

On February 24, the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces seized the plant. There were 600 or so Russian soldiers there by March.

According to BBC News, the Russian soldiers later left the area in April, leaving behind their stations, trenches, and underground shelters. Even though there are currently no troops in the area, concerns persist regarding how the war in Ukraine might affect the plant that has been shut down.

Disastrous Release of Radioactivity

Victor Becerra, a University of Portsmouth professor of power systems engineering in the UK, told Newsweek that the use of missiles during the conflict is concerning because a direct missile strike would likely cause a catastrophic release of radioactivity into the environment and seriously damage the facilities that safeguard nuclear materials.

Becerra said that, therefore, it is plausible to argue that any type of military conflict should be avoided as much as possible close to Chernobyl or any other nuclear facility.

Fuel and Power Supply

Since the start of the Russian invasion, the nuclear plant has been the subject of several worries in addition to radioactivity. For instance, military action could stop the site's electricity supply, according to Becerra. This happened at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the operating Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, last year.

Becerra claimed that to keep the nuclear fuel inside the fourth reactor at safe temperatures, the confinement structure around it needs electricity to run its ventilation system. Additionally, the huge pools where spent nuclear fuel is kept need to be cooled, which requires electricity to power the pumps.

He continued by stating that there were backup diesel generators present, but there were only a few days' worths of diesel fuel in the tanks. As a result, there would be dangers if the site's electricity supply was interrupted for an extended period of time. The fourth reactor's nuclear fuel would lose ventilation, and the water in the storage pools might heat up, and eventually evaporate, leaving used fuel rods exposed.

Worker Welfare

To maintain the safety of the plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is worried about the employees who still work there.

Becerra said that during the period of occupation, those working at the plant at the time it was taken over were unable to leave and continued to run it. Buildings reportedly suffered some damage during the occupation, and there is a chance that military operations disturbed contaminated ground, which is also risking the military personnel who may have unintentionally carried radioactive dust outside the plant.

Radiation

Environmental organizations started to worry about the rise in radiation after Russia took over. A few weeks after the withdrawal of Russian troops, in April 2022, the IAEA declared that radiation levels in the region had increased. But it claimed that there was no risk to the environment or the people in the neighborhood from this.

To determine the radiation levels for itself, Greenpeace conducted research in July. At the time, the group stated that the levels reached "at least" three times greater than the IAEA's predictions.

Wildlife

The absence of human interference in the years after the disaster allowed a large amount of wildlife to repopulate the area. There, wolves, lynxes, foxes, bison, moose, brown bears, and a variety of other wild animals have all been spotted by scientists. A particularly rare species of eagle is among the 200 bird species that have returned to the area.

Preliminary research, however, indicates that the wildlife has left the region since the Russian invasion.

Even though their wildlife monitoring studies are still ongoing, Tim Mousseau, a University of South Carolina professor of biological sciences, previously told Newsweek that they have not been as thorough as in the past due to land mines in the area and worries of new invasion. They believe that many of the animals scattered up during the invasion away from inhabited areas, but this is only their very preliminary assessment, Newsweek reports.