US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Ukrainian authorities said that radiation near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was several times higher than normal. The reason for this was a forest fire in the area, said Egor Firsov, director of the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine on Facebook.
“There is bad news,” he wrote on Sunday and posted a video that measures and shows current radiation rates. The result was 2.6 μSv, which is 16 times higher than normal.
Firsov stressed that high levels of radiation are observed only in the center of the fire, covering approximately 20-25 hectares. According to him, the main problem is that fires occur after setting fire to dried grass. This often occurs after the end of winter and in hot, dry summers. According to the press secretary of the Kiev regional administration Victoria Ruban, the cause of the fire has not been established, but it is most likely a human factor.
Kiev sent a hundred firefighters, two planes and a helicopter to stop the fire
On Monday, Firsov said the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety conducted a study, the results of which are encouraging. “Don’t be afraid to open windows and ventilate rooms during isolation,” he said.
The explosion of the fourth nuclear power plant in 1986 led to a serious environmental disaster in Europe. People are forbidden to live within a radius of 30 kilometers from the power plant.
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