In Ukraine, they want to reduce the Chernobyl exclusion zone

In Ukraine, they want to reduce the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, limiting it to a radius of 10 km, said Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Igor Shevchenko.

Now the radius of the zone is 30 km. After the reduction, a biosphere reserve can be created in the rest of the territory, in which they will conduct specialized studies of flora and fauna.

“I have already signed documents on the creation of the Chernobyl Biosphere Reserve,” the minister said.

Shevchenko noted that the documents had been submitted to the Ministry of Justice for approval, after which they would be handed over for the preparation of the relevant presidential decree.

26 April 1986 of the year on the fourth unit of the USSR’s largest Chernobyl nuclear power plant an explosion occurred, which completely destroyed the reactor. As a result of the explosion, 190 tons of radioactive substances were released into the atmosphere. The total release of radioactive materials amounted to 50 million curies, which is equivalent to the effects of 500 explosions of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.