MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. The situation at the shut-down Chernobyl nuclear power 36 years after the disaster poses no risks to Ukraine or the neighboring countries. The shut-down reactors and spent nuclear fuel, being kept in store at the Chernobyl NPP, are under specialists’ control, but a number of territories the radioactive fallout from the damaged reactor affected in 1986 will remain unlivable for a very long time, one of the world’s leading specialists in the field of nuclear safety, founder and science doyen of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE), Leonid Bolshov, told TASS in an interview.
"At the Chernobyl NPP proper all power units have been withdrawn from operation and the extracted nuclear fuel is kept at the storage facility of the first reactor. A shelter, often referred to as a sarcophagus, was built over the disabled reactor immediately after the disaster. Just recently, a grandiose arch-shaped confinement was created over it to prevent water from getting in and dust leaking out. The situation is under control by and large and poses no risks. As far as radioactive contamination is concerned, some spots with rather high levels can still be found near the power plant. As one of those who participated in dealing with the effects of the disaster personally, I saw some dead forest areas - promptly dubbed Red Forest - in the first months after the disaster, when radiation levels were rather high. That deadwood has been swept away since. The levels of radiation are noticeably down, but staying there long is still unsafe. Incidentally, there are quite a few such spots," Bolshov said.
What is now known as The Red Forest emerged 30 minutes after the explosion of Chernobyl’s fourth reactor. Absorbed radiation killed many trees in nearby areas, turning their color to red-brown. In the process of decontamination work all such trees were bulldozed and buried and tree seedlings planted in the vacated areas. These trees are now several decades old.
Bolshov stressed that the level of radiation in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around Chernobyl had eased noticeably over the years.
"Some time ago tourist routes were opened to this territory, as the level of exposure to radiation is tolerable. But in some spots and areas the level of radioactive contamination still remains a threat to human health," Bolshov said.
As he dwelt on the measures taken to ensure the safe keeping of spent nuclear fuel at the Chernobyl NPP, the expert stressed that there was no potential threat and the latest events merely confirmed this.
"The spent nuclear fuel storage is not at risk. The fuel has been in the cooling pool for quite some time. The temperature is not very high. Even if as a result of some incident the power plant suffers a blackout and the pumps that bring water to the spent fuel pools stop, restoring power supply will be no problem. The power plant has standby diesel generators. Also, a reserve power supply line from neighboring Belarus has been created," he said.
Chernobyl NPP under protection
Bolshov stressed that the Russian army timely put the Chernobyl NPP under protection and now controlled it in cooperation with the power plant’s personnel, which was a reliable guarantee "the spent nuclear materials in store will not be used by this or that radical group."
"I said this before and I will say again that in this way we have prevented the creation of a so-called dirty bomb," Bolshov said.
He pointed out that when data from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s automated system of radiation situation control ASKRO became openly available again, it would be clear that the radiation situation around the power plant was under control.
"As soon as data from the Chernobyl NPP’s ASKRO are openly available again, all remaining tensions over the nuclear power plant will be eliminated, because the whole world will see a clear picture: the Chernobyl nuclear power plant poses no risks," Bolshov added.
Under Leonid Bolshov’s guidance, the RAS Nuclear Safety Institute once in five years releases a report devoted to the Chernobyl disaster and the results and prospects of efforts for eliminating its effects. The latest such report was released in 2021 and made public on the occasion of the disaster’s 35th anniversary.
Chernobyl NPP and RAS Nuclear Safety Institute
The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl NPP, on the Pripyat River, in the north of Ukraine, blew up 36 years ago on April 26, 1986, causing radioactive fallout on an area of 200,000 square kilometers. Parts of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Moldova were affected.
The RAS Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE) is the world’s leading research center in the field of nuclear and radiation safety and one of the main centers studying the causes and consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. The IBRAE’s founder and science doyen, Leonid Bolshov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was personally involved in efforts to eliminate the effects of Chernobyl.
The Chernobyl NPP’s automated radiation monitoring system ASKRO monitors the radiation situation within the 30-kilometer exclusion zone and on the power plant’s premises on-line round the clock.