31 fires in the exclusion zone, pollution is rising - Ministry of the Environment

Kateryna Tyshchenko - Saturday, 26 March 2022, 22:26

Thirty-one fires have been reported in the exclusion zone near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, covering a total area of ​​10,111 hectares, and radioactive contamination is rising.

Source: Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine - website

Quote: "The level of radioactive air pollution is increasing as a result of the hostilities and fires started by ‘Ruscists’ (Russian fascists)  in the forests and grasslands in the exclusion zone.

At present, satellite data shows 31 outbreaks of large fires in natural ecosystems and abandoned villages in the exclusion zone covering a total area of over 10,111 hectares."

Details: The Ministry noted that fires in the exclusion zone carry great radiological risks. Prior to the full-scale Russian invasion, the radiation background was controlled by a 39-point automated radiation control system. So far, such monitoring and extinguishing of fires is currently impossible due to the occupation by Russian troops.

Satellite images by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are helping to document and record large fires. However, the ministry does not rule out the existence of a significant number of smaller sources of ignition.

"[...] thanks to favourable weather conditions, the fires are currently subsiding on their own. However, the area covered by the fires and the number of outbreaks are likely to significantly increase in the near future due to a number of factors. We are not ruling out that under favourable conditions, the fires will reach the catastrophic proportions of 2020," the statement reads.

Background: Ukraine has reported to the IAEA that forest fires are raging in the exclusion zone near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.