The situation became very worrying when the forest fires dangerously approached the disaster area of Chernobyl.
Firefighters are doing their utmost to contain the fires raging in Ukraine. Authorities fear that flames threaten the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant. There were rumors of an unusual increase in radioactivity in the area. In fact, a government ecological inspection official said when the fire broke out that the radiation levels exceeded standards. He then changed his mind. The fire broke out about ten days ago due to the winds and the drought.
On Monday, it looks like the situation has worsened. The strong gusts fueled the fire as it approached dangerously close to the old power station where the explosion of a reactor, on April 26, 1986, contaminated a large part of Europe. The Chernobyl exclusion zone forms a radius of 30 kilometers around the power plant and is located between the Ukrainian and Belarusian territories.
The situation is particularly worrying due to the radioactive waste which is still near the power plant. Fires are dangerous for forest firefighters due to very high exposure to radiation.
