High risks at Chernobyl
Posted: 1st August 2022
Posted on July 31, 2022 by beyondnuclearinternational
Greenpeace radiation readings show IAEA downplayed dangers
Adapted from Ukraine Crisis Media Center and Greenpeace International press release
The Russian military occupation at Chornobyl resulted in crimes against the environment and global scientific understanding of radiation risks, said Greenpeace experts during a press conference at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center on July 20.
With the approval and cooperation of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM) and the Ukraine Foreign Ministry, the Greenpeace team was able conduct a limited radiation survey inside the highly contaminated 30km exclusion zone of Chornobyl. It was limited by the fact that most of the 2600km2 zone has not been checked and cleared of Russian landmines.
The Greenpeace investigation team found radiation in areas where Russian military operations occurred at levels at least three times higher than the estimation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and which classifies it as nuclear waste. In April 2022, the IAEA provided very limited data with assurances that radiation levels were ‘normal” and not a major environmental or public safety issue.