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By Allen L Roland (about the author)
Become a Fan (17 fans) -- Page 1 of 3 page(s)
"If it collapses, there will be no explosion, as this is not a bomb, but a pillar of dust containing irradiated particles will shoot 1.5 kilometers into the air and will be spread by the wind:" Professor Alexei Yablokov, President of the Center for Russian Environmental Policy
Chernobyl is a disaster waiting to happen again . A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident 20 years ago, April 26th, 1986.
On april 19th ~ The environmental watchdog group Greenpeace, said in a report, that more than 90,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl explosion, sharply challenging a UN (United Nations) report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000.
Andrew Osborn in Moscow reported in the Independent/UK on these alarming developments ~ as well as the deadly time line of the first disaster on April 26th, 1986.
Excerpt: " Earlier this year Julia Marusych, the head of information at Chernobyl, admitted on Russian TV that the sarcophagus was in appalling condition: "The construction is unstable, unsafe, and does not meet any safety requirements.... The sarcophagus was hastily thrown together after the explosion as a desperate attempt to contain the world's worst nuclear accident . Many of the workers who toiled on it have since died of cancer and the sarcophagus itself began showing signs of serious stress in the early 1990s."
Allen L Roland
CRACKS IN DECAYING SHELL OF CHERNOBYL REACTOR THREATEN SECOND DISASTER
by Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published on Thursday, April 28, 2005 by the Independent/UK
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0428-01.htm
A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident almost 20 years ago.
Professor Alexei Yablokov, President of the Center for Russian Environmental Policy, said the concrete and metal sarcophagus was riven with cracks, already leaking radiation and at risk of collapse unless repairs were undertaken and work on a replacement urgently begun.
"If it collapses, there will be no explosion, as this is not a bomb, but a pillar of dust containing irradiated particles will shoot 1.5 kilometers into the air and will be spread by the wind." Depending on how the wind is blowing, Russia or Belarus would bear the brunt of such a dust cloud. Ukraine, where Chernobyl is located, would also be affected.
The sarcophagus is designed to keep a lid on what is left of the nuclear reactor that exploded with such dire consequences during an unauthorized test in April 1986 and is supposed to stop the mass of unspent nuclear fuel that lies beneath from entering the atmosphere.
It is estimated that only between 3 and 15 per cent of that fuel actually escaped during the explosion meaning that most of it is still trapped inside. Dr Yablokov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a one-time adviser to former president Boris Yeltsin, said nuclear reactions were actually taking place - spontaneously - inside the sarcophagus as rain and snow fell on the unspent fuel through cracks in the decaying shell.
He said experts had "seen a luminescence characteristic of chain reactions inside the giant building". adding: "Who could predict what might happen if hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete, which was hastily poured 19 years ago, tumbled down on the ruined nuclear reactor?"
His gloomy assessment corroborates that of the Ukrainian officials who manage the decommissioned power plant.
Earlier last year Julia Marusych, the head of information at Chernobyl, admitted on Russian TV that the sarcophagus was in appalling condition: "The construction is unstable, unsafe, and does not meet any safety requirements."
The sarcophagus was hastily thrown together after the explosion as a desperate attempt to contain the world's worst nuclear accident. Many of the workers who toiled on it have since died of cancer and the sarcophagus itself began showing signs of serious stress in the early 1990s.
Become a Fan (17 fans) -- Page 1 of 3 page(s)
Chernobyl is a disaster waiting to happen again . A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident 20 years ago, April 26th, 1986.
On april 19th ~ The environmental watchdog group Greenpeace, said in a report, that more than 90,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl explosion, sharply challenging a UN (United Nations) report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000.
Andrew Osborn in Moscow reported in the Independent/UK on these alarming developments ~ as well as the deadly time line of the first disaster on April 26th, 1986.
Excerpt: " Earlier this year Julia Marusych, the head of information at Chernobyl, admitted on Russian TV that the sarcophagus was in appalling condition: "The construction is unstable, unsafe, and does not meet any safety requirements.... The sarcophagus was hastily thrown together after the explosion as a desperate attempt to contain the world's worst nuclear accident . Many of the workers who toiled on it have since died of cancer and the sarcophagus itself began showing signs of serious stress in the early 1990s."
Allen L Roland
CRACKS IN DECAYING SHELL OF CHERNOBYL REACTOR THREATEN SECOND DISASTER
by Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published on Thursday, April 28, 2005 by the Independent/UK
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0428-01.htm
A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident almost 20 years ago.
Professor Alexei Yablokov, President of the Center for Russian Environmental Policy, said the concrete and metal sarcophagus was riven with cracks, already leaking radiation and at risk of collapse unless repairs were undertaken and work on a replacement urgently begun.
"If it collapses, there will be no explosion, as this is not a bomb, but a pillar of dust containing irradiated particles will shoot 1.5 kilometers into the air and will be spread by the wind." Depending on how the wind is blowing, Russia or Belarus would bear the brunt of such a dust cloud. Ukraine, where Chernobyl is located, would also be affected.
The sarcophagus is designed to keep a lid on what is left of the nuclear reactor that exploded with such dire consequences during an unauthorized test in April 1986 and is supposed to stop the mass of unspent nuclear fuel that lies beneath from entering the atmosphere.
It is estimated that only between 3 and 15 per cent of that fuel actually escaped during the explosion meaning that most of it is still trapped inside. Dr Yablokov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a one-time adviser to former president Boris Yeltsin, said nuclear reactions were actually taking place - spontaneously - inside the sarcophagus as rain and snow fell on the unspent fuel through cracks in the decaying shell.
He said experts had "seen a luminescence characteristic of chain reactions inside the giant building". adding: "Who could predict what might happen if hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete, which was hastily poured 19 years ago, tumbled down on the ruined nuclear reactor?"
His gloomy assessment corroborates that of the Ukrainian officials who manage the decommissioned power plant.
Earlier last year Julia Marusych, the head of information at Chernobyl, admitted on Russian TV that the sarcophagus was in appalling condition: "The construction is unstable, unsafe, and does not meet any safety requirements."
The sarcophagus was hastily thrown together after the explosion as a desperate attempt to contain the world's worst nuclear accident. Many of the workers who toiled on it have since died of cancer and the sarcophagus itself began showing signs of serious stress in the early 1990s.
http://www.allenroland.com
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website more...)
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How about the truth for a change?
by Mark Sashine on Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 at 7:10:10 AM
How about some medical help for these people ??
by Brenda Walters on Friday, Apr 28, 2006 at 12:45:38 AM