The protective shield of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been damaged for several months
The site of the world's worst nuclear disaster remains damaged, but radiation levels outside the plant have not yet increased, officials said.
“Elephant's foot” formed as a result of the Chernobyl disaster.
Photo: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Protective shield in Ukraine Chernobyl The power plant, site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, has been in disrepair for 10 months as a result of a Russian drone strike.
Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Friday that damage from the strike had not been repaired. However, IAEA officials said on Sunday that radiation levels outside nuclear power plant It appears to be holding steady, suggesting that radioactive material inside the plant is not currently being released into the environment.
No one is allowed to live within 1,000 square miles of the plant.
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The shield in question is a massive steel dome known as the New Safe Confinement, located on top of Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor. It was this reactor that exploded on April 26, 1986, and the disaster remains the worst nuclear accident in history.
There is still a large mass of radioactive material under the remains of the reactor at the nuclear power plant, known as the “Elephant's Foot”. Initially, Soviet engineers concluded damaged reactor in a concrete and lead sarcophagus before being covered again with a steel dome in 2016. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 derailed plans to clean up the nuclear power plant, and officials are now working to fix the situation as best they can.
“Timely and comprehensive remediation remains critical to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” the IAEA director general said in a statement. statement.
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