Chernobyl to COVID-19 "hold my beer please......"

Permabanned
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15 May 2006
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What happen if these fires reach one of the reactors...... Will COVID-19 just become no worse than an itch?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-plant-disaster-ukraine-pripyat-a9463271.html

A forest fire that has raged in Ukraine for more than a week has spread to within a kilometre of the Chernobyl power plant, environmental campaigners have warned.

Footage of the region has shown fires raging through the 30km exclusion zone set up around the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, with black smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters attempting to beat back the blaze from helicopters.

However, despite state officials assuring the situation is under control, NGO Greenpeace Russia has warned the situation may be much worse than first stated by the authorities.



On 4 April, Ukrainian authorities said the blaze covered an area of 20 hectares, but Greenpeace cited satellite images showing it was around 12,000 hectares in size at that time.

"According to satellite images taken on Monday, the area of the largest fire has reached 34,400 hectares," it said, adding that a second fire, stretching across 12,600 hectares, was just one kilometre away from the defunct plant.

He said the fire was rapidly expanding and had reached the abandoned city of Pripyat, two kilometers from where "the most highly active radiation waste of the whole Chernobyl zone is located". He called on officials to warn people of the danger.
 
Soldato
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15 Mar 2010
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No offence but im not going to take the word of Greenpeace over a multi-country initiative.
Chenobyl is probably one of the only things the world doesn't **** around with.

If there was a serious problem with the fire there would be significant traction to get it resolved asap regardless of Covid-19.

Also mega lol at Greenpeace making out all this nuclear waste is out in the open ready to just catch on fire....Who believes this tripe!?!?
 
Associate
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20 May 2009
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No offence but im not going to take the word of Greenpeace over a multi-country initiative.
Chenobyl is probably one of the only things the world doesn't **** around with.

If there was a serious problem with the fire there would be significant traction to get it resolved asap regardless of Covid-19.

Also mega lol at Greenpeace making out all this nuclear waste is out in the open ready to just catch on fire....Who believes this tripe!?!?

It's not that far from the truth.
There aren't barrels of nuclear waste lying around but parts of the forest are still radioactive, and you certainly wouldn't want to go kicking through the leaves.
There are sites where highly radioactive wooden buildings were simply buried to contain them, the forest that now grows over them is something you wouldn't want catching fire.

Add to that the Ukrainians weren't exactly honest about what was going on when the reactor exploded, and the fact they still don't acknowledge that the explosion killed more than a handful of people, you can see why people are sceptical when they say it isn't serious.
 
Soldato
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Wetherspoons
I'm just gonna throw my living room YouTube nuclear physics on here, well I have watched A LOT of Scott Manley videos amongst others, so I'm well qualified you see.

I don't think a fire will do all that much, Chernobyl is a lot less radioactive then it was to start with, there are hot spots of course, the elephant foot at the base of the reactor, the claw and the basement of the hospital which is sealed off. The surrounding area isnt too bad.

A fire won't make the radioactive material magically explode into the atmosphere. If something radioactive gets burned, some radioactive particles could get released but I really wouldn't worry.
 
Man of Honour
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19 Oct 2002
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Surrey
I'm just gonna throw my living room YouTube nuclear physics on here, well I have watched A LOT of Scott Manley videos amongst others, so I'm well qualified you see.

I don't think a fire will do all that much, Chernobyl is a lot less radioactive then it was to start with, there are hot spots of course, the elephant foot at the base of the reactor, the claw and the basement of the hospital which is sealed off. The surrounding area isnt too bad.

A fire won't make the radioactive material magically explode into the atmosphere. If something radioactive gets burned, some radioactive particles could get released but I really wouldn't worry.
The radioactive forest and soil burning into radioactive ash and floating across Europe wouldn't be great though.
 
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