Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Faces Military and Environmental Challenges 40 Years After 1986 Disaster

The Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, marking the world’s worst nuclear disaster. New Scientist reporter Matthew Sparkes secured access to Chernobyl's scientific sites, where researchers are working to protect the area and ensure it remains safe. The exclusion zone is under constant threat of attack from Russia, with engineering efforts underway to contain radiation.

The vast cooling ponds in Chernobyl are draining and becoming forest, while populations of rare animals, including wolves and moose, are growing in the exclusion zone. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and Chernobyl lay on the path to Kyiv during that invasion. Russian troops occupied the Chernobyl plant in 2022 and vandalized sites in the exclusion zone.

Ukraine’s military recaptured and militarized the Chernobyl area after the Russian occupation. Today, the Chernobyl exclusion zone is a highly restricted military zone on Ukraine’s border. @NewScientist reported that the area sits right on Ukraine’s border and serves as a potential route for further invasions.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Chernobyl lay on the path to the capital Kyiv, according to @NewScientist. Russian troops occupied the plant, and meteorologist Lyudmila Dyblenko continued taking vital measurements to monitor the nuclear exclusion zone during that time. @NewScientist reported that she fearlessly persisted in her work amid the occupation.

Ever since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, scientists have needed to monitor radioactive conditions inside, @NewScientist stated. That job currently falls to Anatoly Doroshenko, who crawls into the perilous heart of the reactor to perform the monitoring. He explained the dangers and importance of his work to New Scientist.

Four decades after the disaster, engineering efforts focus on containing radiation, while environmental changes include the draining of vast cooling ponds that are turning into forest. @NewScientist reported growing populations of rare animals such as wolves and moose in the zone. The ongoing war complicates managing the zone and conducting science there.

The occupation by Russian troops involved widespread vandalism, followed by Ukraine's recapture and militarization of the area. @NewScientist noted that a drone attack has threatened future clean-up operations. The biggest threat to Chernobyl’s safety is perhaps no longer radiation, which can be monitored and managed with enough budget, but Russia.

Researchers fight to protect the area amid the constant threat of attack from Russia, as per @NewScientist. The visit showed how the one-dimensional view of Chernobyl as a contaminated wasteland is wildly off the mark: the region has a fascinating history, nature is bouncing back, contamination is largely under control, and the exclusion zone is a haunting, fascinating and beautiful place.

With the help of scientists working there, New Scientist gained rare access to the sites.

The story is complicated by the war, including occupation by the Russians, their widespread vandalism, and the subsequent recapture and militarisation by Ukraine’s military. Now, like all of Ukraine, Chernobyl’s future hangs in the balance, making science there infinitely more difficult.