The silence of Chernobyl
Updated: Jan 24, 2020
It was on Saturday, 26th April, 33 years ago, when reactor no 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disintegrated. The incident thought to be caused through a flurry of human as well as design errors spewed radioisotopes into the atmosphere and resulted in the desertion of the small town of Pripyat. But almost three decades have passed since the incident, and things have changed significantly.
When will the radiation stop?
The reason why the Chernobyl disaster was so menacing was because of the uncontrolled release of radioactive substances into the environment, which continued for 10 days after the reactor core melted down. The radiation dose on the first day of the incident ranged up to 20 sieverts[1], which is well above the lethal dose for humans, (anything more than 4 to 5 sieverts[2] is) and it killed 28 within a few months. The radioactive contamination was carried out primarily by radionuclides of cesium and iodine, namely cesium-137, cesium-134, and iodine-131.
Radioactive decay of elements differs from one another, and out of these elements, iodine-131, which has a half-life of 8 days[3], does not pose a threat today. But the same cannot be said about cesium isotopes which have a half-life of around 30 years. Moreover, nuclear fuel has a different composition of fissionable material as opposed to nuclear-fission bombs since its primary requirement is to be efficient and long-lasting. Thus, radioactive substances from a nuclear reactor live long and make the contamination more uneven. Though a proper number is not provided, it is estimated that the exclusion zone will be re-inhabitable in a few hundred years, but within the abandoned reactor, radiation will exist even after several millennia.
What’s it like today?
Today, Chernobyl is a nuclear wasteland that lives within the memories of an unforgotten past. But time has changed Chernobyl and its surroundings. A containment structure called the New Safe Containment[4] was completed in 2017, to enclose the remnants of the unit 4 core and the unstable enclosure facility around the unit. This will allow the remediation workers to remove hazardous nuclear waste in a safe environment, reducing the risks of further nuclear contamination during the process. The people who got relocated due to the incident are now beginning to return to their homelands. Some now live within the exclusion zone, where the radiation levels are still higher than normal[5], but not fatal. In 2011, the Chernobyl site was opened to tourists, and it has become a major destination for many history-buffs from across the world.
When life finds a way
The silent radiation still lingers within nature. The soil studies concluded the presence of radionuclides in numerous trees and plants, subjecting deformations[6] in the leaf shapes. Some leaves have turned red due to the excess amount of radioactive substances in their system. Animals with growth deformations have also been documented.
But besides all of it, nature seems to have found a way around the conundrum. In the absence of humans, trees have grown wild in and around the area, and many animals were also photographed by National Geographic[7]. Animals like Eurasian boars, elks, raccoon dogs, moose, beavers, and grey wolves[8] are now being spotted at large numbers in the exclusion zone.
The silent beauty of it
Chernobyl is awfully quiet now, the silence after the harsh storm. In that silence are words that need not be uttered to be understood. Even while watching documentaries about Chernobyl, you feel an eerie peace, something very humane, something that connects the dots of a disaster that happened decades ago.
Read more from sources
[1], [4]. World Nuclear Association. (Updated June 2019). Chernobyl Accident 1986. Retrieved on September 10, 2019, from https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx
[2]. U.S.NRC. (Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 21, 2019). Lethal dose (LD). Retrieved on September 10, 2019, from https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/lethal-dose-ld.html
[3], [5], [6], [8]. International Atomic Energy Agency. (Date: Unknown). Frequently Asked Chernobyl Questions. Retrieved on September 10, 2019, from https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/chernobyl/faqs
[7]. Erin. Blakemore. (Published on May 17, 2019). The Chernobyl disaster: What happened, and the long-term impacts. [Blog post]. Retrieved on September 10, 2019, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/chernobyl-disaster/
Image sources: Gas mask https://unsplash.com/@yvesalarie Radiation sign https://unsplash.com/@daleng Fox https://unsplash.com/@pllnt
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