Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
At the end of last week, Western experts on radiation safety were seriously alarmed – the automated control system at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant issued online data on a sharp increase in the radiation background. It is still much higher than the average for these observation points, although it is in a safe range. The culprits of the incident were found instantly, but it was necessary to tinker with determining the cause.
As can be seen on the monitoring system's website, the background increase occurred in the evening of February 24, just when the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was taken under control by the Russian troops. They are guilty of what happened, and they do not deny it. However, the details of the incident vary, and if the Western media talk almost about the battle around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the containers with waste pierced by shells, then the version of the Russian military is more prosaic. While patrolling the territory, they unknowingly drove an armored vehicle into places where radioactive dust accumulates, the dispersion of which in the air caused the operation of surveillance sensors. Russian media have published several reports, from which it follows that the station staff and the Ukrainian security service cooperate with the Russian military, so there is no threat of damage to the Chernobyl sarcophagus or equipment. The new safe confinement is intact, the waste storage facilities are also in order, radiation level measurements are carried out according to schedule, and there is no threat. As noted by Claire Corkhill, an expert on the degradation of nuclear materials at the University of Sheffield in the UK, the increase in radiation levels is recorded on standard routes of movement around the station. There are no new foci, and the version with dust looks plausible.