Forest fires have been raging in northern Ukraine since April 4, slowly moving to the area of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which in 1986 erupted in the world’s largest nuclear accident.
Initially, a representative of the Ukrainian authorities said on the Internet that the levels of radiation at the epicenter of the fire were above normal. This was later refuted by the authorities. At the same time, Greenpeace said the fires were much larger than they were presented to the public.
Four days ago, the BBC reported that the fires had reached about 2 km from the place where the most hazardous waste from the former nuclear power plant is stored. At the same time, Varna fishermen turned to the Civil EcoLaboratory with a question whether we have detected an increase in radiation. Their fears were that during this period the air currents were permanently oriented from the northeast, which may be a prerequisite for the transfer of air masses from the region of the fire.
Today we measured the gamma background and found 0.10 μSv \ h at a norm of the natural gamma background on the territory of Bulgaria is from 0.06 to 0.40 µSv \ h. The average annual value for Varna is between 0.09 and 0.10 µSv / h. Obviously at the moment there are NO grounds for concern.
We hope that the fire will be just a reminder of April 26, when another anniversary of the world’s largest nuclear accident will be celebrated.
Translator: Valentina Vagge
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Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations
The project “Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations” shall be implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society. This material is established with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The whole responsibility for the content of the document is held by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development and under no circumstances can this material be considered to reflect the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria.