Massive forest fires break out in Ukraine's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, causing radiation levels in cities across Lithuania to surge 40 times
During the forest fires in Ukraine's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, radiation levels were monitored locally. Radiation conditions within Ukraine remain stable. According to data from the Hydrometeorological Service of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, gamma radiation levels throughout the country are still within normal ranges.
Firefighting efforts in the large-scale wildfires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone continue, with assurances that domestic radiation conditions will be promptly reported. Vladimir Kuznetsov, former head of nuclear and radiation safety inspections at the Soviet Union’s State Atomic Energy Supervision Agency, a Doctor of Technical Sciences and professor who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant for seven years, has warned of the serious risks potentially posed by these fires in the exclusion zone.
Kuznetsov reminded the public that fires occur annually in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant area, having done so for the past 40 years. The physicist believes this indicates that Ukraine has hardly carried out any forest fire prevention activities in these regions. Moreover, he stated that firefighting equipment is in "extremely poor condition," and that retired personnel are being used in firefighting operations—these elderly individuals cannot endure wearing chemical radiation protection suits for extended periods in high-temperature environments.
Kuznetsov emphasized that to accurately assess the risk of fires near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, specialized vehicles from radiation, chemical, and biological warfare defense units must be deployed for comprehensive radiation reconnaissance. Ukraine currently lacks such equipment. The physicist cited the 2010 forest fire in the southeastern part of Bryansk as an example of potential consequences, when the region experienced "alarming levels of radioactive contamination."
What consequences might arise from massive forest fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? The intense blaze being fought vigorously by Ukrainians has caused radiation levels in Vilnius, Lithuania, to increase 40-fold. When fires occur, combustion products rise directly into the stratosphere. How exactly will these substances disperse? Due to wind currents at different atmospheric layers carrying the pollutants in various directions, predictions become extremely difficult—and it is inevitable that these emissions will drift into neighboring Lithuania, just across Ukraine's border.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864625054887936/
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