As tensions rise around the world and Russia still invades Ukraine, you can’t help but wonder, what is Russia going to do with Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear disaster site. It’s been nearly 40 years since the fourth reactor's cooling mechanisms failed during a security check causing a meltdown, resulting in the death of 31 workers, firemen, and liquidators. Many deaths that weren’t instant were because of horrendous radiation poisoning and certain types of cancer, due to extreme amounts of radiation and gamma rays in the air.
Russia declared war on Ukraine February 24, 2022 and shows no signs of stopping, or reducing troops. The unprovoked invasion is a result of Ukraine showing serious interest in joining the EU and NATO. After the Soviet Union broke apart many countries like Ukraine broke out of the former nation. Russia retained some traits of the Soviet Union and still recognises Ukraine as a part of Russia/Warsaw Pact and does not want it to “turn against” them by joining the vast majority of the west by applying for the EU and NATO.
In the spring of 1986, April 26 to be exact, Chernobyl Ukraine suffered the worst nuclear disaster in history. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant lay 130km south of Kiev, Ukraine and about 20km south of the Ukraine and Belarus border. During a routine safety check, operators were testing how long the turbines would spin and power the circulating pumps without the main electrical power supply. After the check was over, operators went to shut down the reactor, but it was in too much of an unstable condition. This caused a power surge and led to the reactor blowing up, in a massive fiery explosion. The reactor's hot, nuclear core melted through the floor, all the way to the basement in what is now known as the elephant's foot. The fires that caused much of the environmental damage carried out radiation and even gamma rays into the air and around the area, leaving Chernobyl, Ukraine uninhabitable for up to 20,000 years. This is because of all the radiation in the area that will take decades to break down. The explosion sent nuclear particles all around the area, and countries like Russia with unusually high radiation levels.
The soil, air, and water sources around the site are filled with radiation, so you have to wear protective gear and a mask when near the plant. It was placed under a temporary shield, called the sarcophagus, to prevent any more radiation from seeping into the surrounding environment in July of 2019 after the original one was starting to fall apart.
Russian soldiers invaded the area shortly after the start of their invasion of Ukraine. Safety workers at Chernobyl stated that the Russians were incredibly stupid for bunking and even digging trenches outside of the plant. The soil is still very dangerous and should not have been disturbed. Some scientists taking note of the plant said that during the Russian’s stay, they held workers at gunpoint for hours on end and made them sleep on tabletops with little food. At one point the site’s power was shut off, leaving all the equipment running on the diesel backup generators. Workers kept the soldiers away from the most dangerous areas to prevent further damage to the site's preservation. It was reported the Russians looted the surrounding towns for anything they could find, including the machine that monitored the plants radiation levels, to prevent another radiation spike. The Russians stayed in Chernobyl for nearly a month before leaving the exclusion zone from mild radiation syndrome symptoms.
Do you think that the Russians will use Chernobyl if they take over the country?
What do you think will happen if Russian forces come back to the site?
Replies
Great topic choice, great summary and great job Zoe!!
I don't think the russain people would like putin to do anything with chernobyl, however Putin right now is looking very weak to his people. Putin is mentally unhighed at the moment and to show strengh he will probably nuke Ukriane.
In my opinion, I don't think that Russia will use Chernobyl to take over the country. I believe this mainly because they didn't even do the bare minimum to keep them safe and the area safe from radiation, so it would just cause to much harm for the Russians to actually use Chernobyl. Also, by using Chernobyl as a weapon, they would make many areas around that place uninhabitable and the radiation would leak into the air, hurting part of the country. Russia doesn't want to harm the country, they just want to take it over, and they would be polluting, in their own eyes, the land they are trying to get. I think that there is a chance that the Russian forces will come back to Chernobyl. In the past they have shown that they care not about the dangers, do it wouldn't surprise me if they came back.
I agree. Chernobyl is still too unstable of a force to really be using because of the high radiation levels. They obviously don't care enough to use proper safety equipment for themselves so its propobly unlikely that they would use it for anything.
I don't believe Russia could use Chernobyl even if they tried. They would get radiation just by sitting in the trenches outside of the plant and if they went inside the plant it would be quick to get radiation. If they went back the radiation would be studied maybe.
You prove a valid point. They didn't use proper gear the first time they were at the site so I don't think that they will bother using it for anything else. If it wasn't for the safety workers there they probobly would have gone into the actual ruins of the plant and would have died or gotten really sick.
I don't think that Russia would use Chernobyl if they took over the country because it would be too dangerous. The radiation would cause too much harm, so they might get a serious disease and don't think that they want that. So they will just leave it.
I don't think that the Russians would use Chernobyl to take over the country. I also think that if the Russians go back to the site they might end up with a cancer or something else due to what might be left of the radation.
I agree. They didn't have any protective gear the first time and some of them got sick, so its a possibility that some of them develop some sort of disease or something if they decide to go back.
I dont think that the Russian soldiers will come back due tothe threat that America has put on them. I think they are smarter and they should know that America is a tougher and more resourceful country. It could aslo cause war and nobody wants that.
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