Chernobyl: 35 years after the explosion, one of the reactors of the nuclear power plant is working again

Reactor number four of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located in northern Ukraine, it was reactivated 35 years after the worst disaster in history. One of the parts of the plant is reborn, just like the ghosts of the past.

The new protective structure, incorporated on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the disaster, seeks to further isolate the gigantic cube of steel and concrete built in 1987 and neutralize the radiation from this exploded reactor.

Indeed, even today, the sensors follow an increasing number of neutrons, which are signals of nuclear fission, apparently concentrated in an inaccessible room of the old power plant.

The next Chernobyl could take place on the high seas

This is the conclusion that Anatolii Doroshenko, member of the Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Safety Problems (ISPNPP), produced in front of the American scientific journal, Science, of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“There are many uncertainties and we cannot rule out the possibility of an accident”, declared, for his part, Maxim Savelier, also of the ISPNPP. Savelier does not rule out a possible “explosion” and stated that the number of neutrons increases slowly.

He also suggested that experts would still need a few more years to fully understand how to quell the potential threat and permanently dismantle the remains of this number four reactor.

Before getting rid of the structure, rainwater entered the sarcophagus, they not only increase the chances of hitting and splitting uranium nuclei, but also increase the number of neutrons.

Apparently, such a blanket solved the problem. And, indeed, it was, taking into account that the number of neutrons in most areas of the sarcophagus remained stable or decreased.

However, new surveys have shown an increase in some points, almost doubling in 4 years in room 305/2, which contains tons of radioactive material buried under the rubble. There the greatest danger is concentrated.

Today, experts are clearly talking about a Chernobyl different from the previous one. However, the sarcophagus could collapse, under the effects of a small explosion, and fill the dome again with radioactive material.

Alexander Uvarov, director of the Russian site Atominfo, estimated that “The situation in Chernobyl does not present any real danger, especially catastrophic, and the same Ukrainian scientists point out”.

He pointed out that the results did not exceed the risk threshold in the area, although he also clarified that, unfortunately, “the Ukrainian government has not yet released the necessary funds for the implementation of the monitoring program”.

JFG