Forests fires cause Chernobyl radiation levels to spike
In recent news, the radiation levels near the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster have penetrated as firefighters battle to contain two forest fires in the area. On Saturday afternoon a fire covering around 50 acres broke out near the village of Vladimirovka, within the uninhabited Chernobyl exclusion zone.
In the area of the fire outbreak, the readings on the radiation device are 2.3, when the norm is 0.14. 2.3 is nearly five times the amount of maximum allowable natural background radiation. Junior, Allison Brown said, “Exposure top radiation over a long period of time has deadly outcomes such as cancer.”
The emergency services recently reported that there is a total of 124 firefighters, two An-32P planes and a Mi-8 helicopter that are battling the largest ongoing blazes and have carried out 42 water drops on the area. Another 14 firefighters were battling a smaller blaze of around 12 acres.
The radiation levels are still said to have not reached Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, or to the city of Chernobyl itself, where authorities state that the radiation levels have remained normal. Sadly, forest fires are not uncommon in this area. Junior, Allie Kennedy, stated that “At least it has not reached citizens, but if this radiation begins to spread, it will not be good.”
The bigger problem of setting fires to grass by careless citizens in spring and autumn has long been a very acute problem for citizens in this area. Every year they see the same picture -- fields, reeds, forests burn in all regions. A change is necessary, radiation is not a joke and if it spreads past the fire these populations will be in danger. It is crucial for new legislation to impose more severe penalties for anyone who is caught starting these fires in this area. Junior, Ciana Massaria, said that “If new legislation imposes these penalties, hopefully, people will listen and stop the potential exposure to harmful radiation.”
Radiation is an extremely serious matter it damages the cells that make up the human body. Low levels of radiation are not dangerous, but medium levels can lead to sickness, headaches, vomiting, and fever. High levels can kill you by causing damage to your internal organs. It is necessary for these areas that have radiation because of these forest fires to take more precautions and to be aware of the dangers of radiation if it does spread.