More than 400 Ukrainian firefighters are fighting a major fire around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Based on satellite images, the NGO Greenpeace claims that the fire is only "about 1.5 km" from the arch covering the reactor which exploded by accident in April 1986. But for the country's authorities , the places of storage of radioactive waste and the other crucial infrastructures of the exclusion zone are not threatened.
"The new Chernobyl facilities are modern and concrete," says François Besnus, director of the environment at the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety. “We don't have a lot of fears about the plant itself because it has been shut down. For there to be a real risk, it would be necessary for the fire to invade the interior of the installations, which is very unlikely. "
However, at the start of the fire, readings taken at the Geiger counter had reported increasing levels of radioactivity. “By burning, the activity contained in the trees and on the litter of the soil goes up in smoke and spreads in the air. The firefighters who work on site can therefore inhale radioactive doses but which remain very low according to our estimates ”.
For François Besnus, the major problem of the fire lies in the possible deposition of smoke on the ground in the coming days, especially with the rain. “It can contaminate nearby cultures. Local people will have to wash their salads and vegetables well to remove the radioactivity. But a priori, once again, the health risks are low ”.
The fire near the power plant was caused by a 27-year-old man living near Chernobyl. He faces up to five years in prison for "destroying vegetation". The suspect told police that he set the grass on fire "for fun".