Hey, It's Chernobyl, Remember Me?

 

BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK ||| CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR REACTOR SITE

One of the most dangerous and highly radioactive sites in the world was struck by a drone this week. Video footage shows the roof of the Chernobyl reactor site taking a direct hit, with fire and explosions.

Officials claim radiation levels are 'normal' considering a large chunk of the roof is missing. This protection is essential in preventing water and animals from entering the highly radioactive zone.

The fire was extinguished on Friday, after burning through insulation that kept the dangerous radiation and elements from contacting the hot core.

“You have an amazing, terrible situation, because that’s not supposed to happen,” said Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace who has monitored nuclear power plants in Ukraine since 2022 and who visited Chernobyl on Friday. “It was never designed for a deliberate military attack. We’ve been investigating Russian war crimes, and this looks like another one.”

It was a Shahed drone, powered by a piston engine, supplied by Iran to Russia. The drone was flying at an altitude of 278 feet, which made it undetectable by radar.

The protective shell, built at a cost of $1.7 billion dollars, was completed in 2019 with the assistance of 45 countries. This was to make sure that a nuclear accident like the one in 1986 wouldn't happen here again. That is, until the drone strike hit this week.

About 1,000 miles are in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a hot spot of radiation covered in layers of hot isotopes which will remain hot for 250,000 years.

Engineers are working to seal the structure temporarily. 

From the New York Times:

Oleksandr Tytarchuk, the chief engineer at the plant, said his team and other specialists plan to do a “preliminary analysis and temporarily seal the opening,” to prevent more moisture from entering the structure, which can speed corrosion. But this would not be a radiation-proof seal, meaning the shell would no longer serve the function it had before the strike.

“We understand that snow is falling, rain is expected and water used during fire suppression has also become radioactive waste,” Mr. Tytarchuk said. “That said, I must emphasize that the radiation levels have not increased and remain under control.”