INVISIBLE THREAT
Is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant still active?
RUSSIAN forces captured the area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant during their invasion of Ukraine.
The attack came in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, as war broke out on the eastern borders of Ukraine.
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What is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant?
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was once a power complex with four nuclear reactors based in a remote area of Ukraine.
Its first four reactors were built successfully in 1970,1977, and 1983 before moving on to the sixth and seventh reactors.
Viktor Bryukhanov was in charge of the Chernobyl power plant when it exploded during the construction of the last two reactors in 1986.
The explosion killed two workers immediately and 28 others died from radiation poisoning within a few weeks.
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Radioactivity spread as far as Italy and France resulting in deformities in newly-born livestock and contaminating millions of miles of farmland.
An investigation into the explosion revealed faulty protocols in the design of the reactors and poorly trained personnel caused the destruction.
Bryukhanov maintained his innocence at Chernobyl and said they received directions from Moscow in Russia for the reactors' building plans. He also alleged higher-ups in the company did not provide adequate tools to measure radiation leaks.
Despite his pleas, Bryukhanov was expelled from the Communist party and charged with violating safety rules, abuse of power, and negligence.
He pleaded not guilty to his first two charges but did plead guilty of negligence. "I am guilty as manager of having missed something, of having been careless or inefficient in some way," Bruykhanov said during the trial.
"I understand that this is a serious accident, but everyone bears some blame for it.”
Bryukhanov was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was released halfway through his sentence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.
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Is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant still active?
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster is considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in the world, and more than three decades later, the area remains as dangerous as ever.
When the power plant erupted in 1986, it was decommissioned and was given a protective cover to contain the radiation.
Scientists reported on the power plant's nuclear activity in 2021 and said the area has come alive and Neil Hyatt, a professor of nuclear materials science and engineering at the University of Sheffield, told the waste "is like the embers in a barbecue pit."
It is possible, according to scientists, that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can create another explosion at any time and has the possibility of being as big as the 1986 explosion.
A senior researcher with the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP) in Kyiv, Ukraine said, "There are many uncertainties, but we can't rule out the possibility of (an) accident."
According to , as of March 9, 2022, "Ukraine’s closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the nation’s power grid by Russian forces, Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo said Wednesday, potentially jeopardizing the cooling of nuclear material stored at the site."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, requested help from the international community to "urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply.”
He warned that “cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent. Putin’s barbaric war puts entire Europe in danger.”
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What is happening at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant?
Russian troops descended upon Chernobyl on Thursday, February 24, quickly capturing the area and killing those who stood in their way.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted earlier on Thursday, “Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl [Nuclear Power Plant]. Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated.
"This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
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It is unknown what the effects of the radioactive area will have on the Russian occupants, and an official at the plant told , "After a fierce battle, Ukrainian control over the Chernobyl site was lost.
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"The condition of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, confinement, and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown."
Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, told that Ukrainian troops had put up a "fierce resistance," but warned, "radioactive dust could cover the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and the countries of the European Union.”
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