Russian invasion forces have destroyed a laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant complex. Worse, the destroyed facility is commonly used to monitor radiation levels at the decommissioned nuclear power plant and the area around it.
Chernobyl was one of the main targets of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24. Since then, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the monitoring system that sends data to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) due to multiple power losses.
The facility is also overshadowed by the risk of forest fires, and only in recent days some of the workers held hostage inside were allowed to make long overdue staff rotations.
This news of the relatively recent destruction of the central analytical lab at Chernobyl adds to the list of demolitions of critical facilities in the area. The role of this state-of-the-art lab is to provide a detailed scientific analysis of each stage of radioactive waste processing. As many as 100 state-of-the-art equipment in this lab, there is no backup in Europe.
Quoted from IFL Science, given that the Chernobyl disaster was the worst civilian nuclear accident in history, the work this lab has done in the past seven years has been a breakthrough in terms of radioactive waste management.
Therefore, the damage that occurs today will not only impact the work done in the exclusion zone, but wherever it can be applied.
"The laboratory used samples of highly active radionuclides, which are currently captured by the enemy, so we think their actions will only harm themselves, not the rest of the civilized world," the IAEA said.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant has not worked for two decades so there is no risk of another disaster. However, the situation is still dangerous for the workers who keep the site safe. The Russian troop attack could also destroy the hard work of the workers there who had been keeping it safe.
Initially, as many as 211 technical personnel and guards remained on the structure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when Russian troops took over the area. The long overdue staff rotation only happened last weekend. Thirteen members of the technical staff refused to be rotated, as did the guards.
The fire station of the local fire department, currently has no access to the power grid and relies on generators. In fact, this station usually handles forest fires that occur during the "fire season" that the area experiences throughout the year.
Responding to the precarious situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the IAEA said it was ready to send experts and equipment to Ukraine if a safety corridor could be agreed.