![]() ![]() The 1986 explosion and its aftermath killed dozens of cleanup workers and has been blamed for thousands of subsequent deaths believed to be linked to radiation exposure from the site, though the exact number is disputed. "Every day, the risk of the sarcophagus collapsing increases, along with the risk of another widespread release of radioactivity to the environment." "Water dripping from the sarcophagus roof has become radioactive and leaks into the soil on the reactor floor birds have been sighted in the roof space," she said. ![]() The sarcophagus is now showing signs of aging, as Claire Corkhil, who studies the dangers of nuclear waste, wrote in The Conversation. The Chernobyl site was part of the Soviet Union at the time, but is now part of northern Ukraine, near its border with Belarus. Immediately after the 1986 meltdown, a hastily built concrete shelter, known as a sarcophagus, was constructed to contain the radioactive fallout. Ukraine's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Ostap Semerak called this "the beginning of the end of a 30-year-long fight with the consequences of the 1986 accident." He said that some 40 countries were involved in the effort and pointed to this as proof that "environmental safety remains a priority for global policymakers." ![]() World Challenges Loom Large, 25 Years After Chernobyl ![]()
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