Burning huge forest fire near the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history

• Device meter next to burnt structure in Chernobyl // Photo: IP

Ukraine's disaster fears: A large forest fire has raged for close to a week near the site of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant north of the capital Kiev, and according to local media reports, the fire has begun to approach nuclear waste repositories and the power plant itself, where the damaged reactor remains.

The fire was reportedly less than a mile from downtown abandoned Freepate, where hundreds of buildings suffered severe radioactive pollution during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1984. The fire was also reportedly close to an abandoned vehicle parking lot that also absorbed a large amount of radiation during the disaster.

The fire has consumed thousands of acres of forest and nature reserve within the areas of Chernobyl's closed area. The concern is that the fire releases and raises in the smoke a large amount of radioactive material remaining in the area above the disaster. Radiation measurements in the area show a sharp rise in the level of radioactive radiation.

Quarantine aerial photographs show that two large fires are raging, one on its eastern side, near the Belarussian border of the region and the other southwest, closer to the capital of Kiev. Radiation tests done in the capital show significant grounds for the level of radioactive radiation but well below the hazardous range.

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In Kiev, it is feared that the spirits regime may set fire to the fire and move it toward the remnants of the disabled nuclear power plant and its radioactive waste repositories. "At this time, we cannot say that we have achieved any control over the flames," said Katrina Pavlova, director of the Chernobyl quarantine of the Ukrainian government.

The Chernobyl disaster that occurred in 1984 is the most serious nuclear disaster in human history and experts estimate that tens of thousands have died as a result of the radioactive radiation emitted from the destroyed reactor. The story of the accident, plastered by the Soviet authorities, recently received extensive discussion after a storyline from the HBO Network unraveled the story of the accident and the rendering.