Local experts “connect this with disturbance of the top layer of soil from movement of a large number of radio heavy military machinery through the Exclusion zone and increase of air pollution,” it added. However, it noted that “the condition of Chernobyl nuclear facilities and other facilities is unchanged.”
Earlier Friday, the body said that although data “from the automated radiation monitoring system of the exclusion zone” indicated that the control levels of gamma radiation had risen, it was “currently impossible to establish the reasons for the change in the radiation background in the exclusion zone because of the occupation and military fight in this territory.”
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a 1,000-square-mile zone of forest surrounding the shuttered plant and lies between the Belarus-Ukraine border and the Ukrainian capital.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, then under the control of the Soviet Union, became infamous as the scene of an April 1986 disaster, when a series of explosions and fires sent a huge radioactive cloud over parts of Europe and left a no man’s land of contaminated soil and other fallout, which remains dangerous.
The catastrophe ranks as the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces have taken control of the area near the power plant as part of Russia’s wider invasion of Ukraine, which began Thursday and sparked global outrage.
“Yesterday, on February 24, units of the Russian Airborne Forces took full control of the area around the Chernobyl NPP,” or nuclear power plant, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.
Russia countered Ukraine’s statement and said radiation levels were normal.
“Radiation levels are normal in the NPP area. The NPP personnel continue to operate the power plant as usual and to monitor radiation levels,” Konashenkov added.
Radiation poses an invisible threat. It’s impossible to smell or see and can be detected only with a special measuring device. health effects are not immediately apparent unless a person has been exposed to a very large dose.
In the decades since the accident, studies have shown that radiation from the Chernobyl plant led to various health conditions, including thyroid problems, particularly in children. The United Nations estimated that at least 4,000 people may have died as a result of exposure to radiation.
The Chernobyl zone, one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the world, has remained closed since 1986, although a small number of people still live in the area — mostly elderly Ukrainians who refused to evacuate.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that the Russian capture of the plant “may cause another ecological disaster,” if the conflict continued.
“Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also tweeted Thursday. “This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the #Chornobyl_NPP. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to @SwedishPM. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2022
In a further twist, the White House expressed its outrage over “credible” reports that Russian forces were holding the staff of the Chernobyl nuclear facilities hostage.
“We are outraged by credible reports that Russian soldiers are currently holding the staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage. This unlawful and dangerous hostage-taking, which could upend the routine civil service efforts required to maintain and protect the nuclear waste facilities, is obviously incredibly alarming and greatly concerning,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Thursday news briefing. “We condemn it, and we request their release.”
Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, did not address reports of hostages early Friday but said the workers were still operating the plant. “The safety of power units is ensured together with the staff of the Ukrainian security battalion,” he said, adding that “the radiation background is normal.”
The Chernobyl plant decommissioning team had been operating a scaled-back “downtime” service since Feb. 15 due to an outbreak of coronavirus cases among staff, its official website said.
“Until at least 27 February 2022, the operational staff only, ensuring nuclear and radiation safety will remain working on-site on a regular operating schedule,” it announced earlier this month.
The building containing the exploded reactor from 1986 was covered in 2017 by an enormous concrete shelter aimed at containing radiation still leaking from the accident. Robots inside the shelter work to dismantle the destroyed reactor and gather up the radioactive waste. It’s expected to take until 2064 to finish dismantling the reactors.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement Thursday that it was following the situation in Ukraine “with grave concern” and appealed for “maximum restraint” to avoid any action that may put Ukraine’s nuclear facilities at risk.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the statement that it was of “vital importance” that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone not be affected or disrupted in any way.
Andrew Jeong, William Branigin, David L. Stern and Claire Parker contributed to this report.