Environmental organization Greenpeace has found alarmingly high levels of radioactivity in the exclusion zone around the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, in some cases exceeding the international limit for nuclear waste by a factor of four. Thus, the radiation levels are much higher than specified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Their description of the situation in Chernobyl was “inadequate,” Greenpeace radiation expert Jan Vande Putte said at a press conference on Wednesday. Greenpeace accuses Russian troops of “crimes against the environment”.
Putte accused IAEA chief Rafael Grossi of “inadequate risk management” regarding Chernobyl. His organization focused only on certain dose rates. However, a much more complex picture prevails due to the earth being churned up by heavy Russian military vehicles in the nuclear ruins. The radioactive radiation measured by Greenpeace was between 0.2 and 7.7 microsieverts per hour.
Strong criticism of the IAEA
Measurements by IAEA experts at the end of April, confined to a smaller area, were 0.2 to 0.75 microsieverts per hour. That poses no danger to people or the environment, IAEA boss Grossi explained at the time. According to the Greenpeace expert, the presentation was “inadequate” and “inaccurate”. “If you only look in one direction, you won’t find a problem,” he attacked the Atomic Energy Agency.
Greenpeace accuses the IAEA of having particularly close ties to Rosatom, because the IAEA’s deputy director general, Mikhail Chudakov, used to work for the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom. There are “serious doubts about the independence of the IAEA in Ukraine,” said Greenpeace nuclear specialist Shaun Burnie. He called for Chudakov’s resignation.
Right at the beginning of the invasion on February 24, Russian troops occupied the nuclear ruins of Chernobyl. Greenpeace accused Russia of committing a “crime against the environment and against science”. It was a unique case of a state occupying a foreign nuclear power plant and “violating all safety rules,” said Sergiy Kirieev, director general of the Chernobyl SSE Ecocentre, which monitors radiation levels around Chernobyl.
“Nuclear waste burned”
According to him, the fires that broke out in March in the exclusion zone were deliberately started by Russian soldiers. They also dug trenches in the contaminated soil. “Russian soldiers dug in radioactive waste and burned nuclear waste,” Kirieev said. An area of 80 square kilometers of forest was damaged by fire. Monitoring systems for measuring radioactivity were also destroyed by Russian forces.
Ukrainian firefighters did their best to extinguish the wildfires, Kirieev emphasized. But because of the land mines on the site, it was extremely dangerous. The Russian army also seized a fire truck, the chief of authorities said. The Russian action thus constitutes a crime against the workers and firefighters in the nuclear facility, Greenpeace stressed. The Ukrainian authorities have no precise information about the irradiated enemy soldiers. However, they assume contamination because the troops stayed there for weeks without protective equipment.
“Ticking time bomb” Zaporizhzhya
Chernobyl has been under Ukraine since April. Greenpeace is more concerned about the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is still occupied by Russian troops. The environmental organization agrees with the IAEA on this: Both warn of the danger that the nuclear power plant could be hit by misplaced projectiles, which could lead to a more serious nuclear accident than at Chernobyl. The nuclear power plant is “a ticking time bomb,” warned Greenpeace nuclear expert Burnie. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Russian army from Zaporizhzhya.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
