An operator’s chair covered with plastic sits in an empty control room of the 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 20, 2018.
Highlights
- Russian forces taking control of Chernobyl nuclear plant has revived the fears of 1986 disaster
- The 1986 disaster had killed dozens & spewed radioactive fallout over much of Northern Hemisphere
- Notably, higher than usual gamma radiation levels have been reported at Chernobyl nuclear plant
The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Tuesday said that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is no longer transmitting data. The agency voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard at the plant which is the largest in Europe.
Earlier on February 24, Russian forces invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant. Although the UN nuclear energy watchdog had earlier said no radiation was released after Russian forces took over the control of the nuclear plant after heavy shelling, the attack has revived the fears of people across Europe who remember the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which killed many and spewed radioactive fallout over much of the Northern Hemisphere.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost”, the agency said in a statement. “The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon,” it said.
The IAEA uses the term “safeguards” to describe technical measures it applies to nuclear material and activities, with the objective of deterring the spread of nuclear weapons through early detection of the misuse of such material.
A sudden surge of power on April 26, 1986 during a reactor systems test destroyed Unit 4 at the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. The accident and fire that followed released massive amounts of radioactive material, forcing the evacuation of nearby communities and contaminating 150,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of land in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.
The initial explosion killed two plant workers, and 28 others died within the next three months. By 2005, more than 6,000 thyroid cancers were reported among children and adolescents in the affected area, many of which were most likely caused by radiation, according to a report from the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiation.
READ MORE: Ukraine’s nuclear agency reports increased radiation levels from Chernobyl