Dangers Remain 40 Years After Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster
Sunday will mark 40 years since the Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster. But with the protective shield over the old plant needing upgrades and Russian attacks threatening the site, the disaster isn't history.
Chornobyl Disaster: 40 Years On
REPORTER:
A crowd lays flowers at a Kyiv memorial to the Chornobyl Nuclear disaster, 40 years ago Sunday.
REPORTER:
Some people here, like Valerii Repeta, worked at the Chornobyl plant and were there the night it exploded with a series of blasts after a botched safety test when safety rules were ignored. It’s a night that’s stayed with him.
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Radioactivity spread over Europe and beyond. In addition to the 31 workers and firefighters who died on the scene, an unknown number, perhaps thousands have since died from radiation-related illnesses.
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And nearby residents were evacuated, never to return home. For them, that painful experience is a lesson not forgotten — when it comes to nuclear plants in this part of the world, vigilance is key.
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But that isn’t easy. For four years, it’s been nothing but war. Russia, the successor of the now-collapsed USSR, hasn’t stopped attacks on the now-independent Ukraine, the country where Chornobyl now lies.
REPORTER:
Russia has attacked Ukraine’s infrastructure, and Kyiv says this includes a 2025 drone attack that threatened to rip into a protective arc covering the plant’s most dangerous section. It had to be patched up — a near-disaster averted. And the 2,000-plus strong crew still working at Chornobyl say as the war drags into its fifth year, the plant is still far from in the clear.
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And should the war continue — as it may well — it could complicate plans to repair the protective arc. And to keep the structure functional, work needs to start soon.
REPORTER:
40 years on, even in greatly changed times, the Chornobyl Disaster is still very much a part of the present for Ukraine.
