Radioactive Chernobyl forest fires: a ticking time bomb
Radioactive Chernobyl forest fires: a ticking time bomb
15 April 2016
published by www.greenpeace.org
Ukraine/Russia– For five years now Ive been a member of the professional firefighting group of Greenpeace Russia staff members that is supported by well trained volunteers and Ive travelled thousands of kilometres across Russia to extinguish fires. Firefighting is always dangerous, but when it happens in a radiation-contaminated area the stakes are much higher.
In areas contaminated by Chernobyl, wildfires are a common occurrence. Without good government management, these areas flame up every spring due to bonfires made by locals, and the fires can cover thousands of hectares. With the climate getting warmer and dryer, these fires have become more frequent and devastating in recent years.
Left:Every spring, fires start in the forests and fields of the heavily contaminated area. Right:A Greenpeace member wearing protective clothing holds a geiger counter.
Photos retrieved fromwww.greenpeace.org on 17 of April 2016.
Right now, Im working near the village of Stary Vyshkov. Despite being declared an evacuation zone due to high contamination, its still home to 300 people. There are millions of people like these villagers, living in contaminated areas and always at risk. Our team, in cooperation with local emergency services and volunteers, prevents grassfires from hitting contaminated peatland at the edge of the village.
I and the other firefighters do this work because the government fails to protect its citizens. While the authorities management of forests across Russia is weak, the problem here is worse because they ignore the high levels of contamination. These areas need a special regime of fire prevention and safety rules.
Chernobyl-contaminated forests are ticking time bombs, Ludmila Komogortseva tells me. A scientist and ex-deputy on Bryansk regional council – an area highly contaminated by Chernobyl – Ludmila knows the risks of Chernobyls fallout well.
Woods and peat accumulate radiation and every moment, every grass burning, every dropped cigarette or camp fire can spark a new disaster, she says.
Peat in Bryansk marshes has collected enough radioactivity to be considered radioactive waste. During a fire, radionuclides like caesium-137, strontium-90 and plutonium rise into the air and travel with the wind. This is a health concern because when these unstable atoms are inhaled, people become internally exposed to radiation.
These radiation risks make fighting wildfires all the more difficult. Some areas Ive worked in are so contaminated that no protective outfit will fully block the radiation were exposed to. That is why fighting fires is sometimes not a sustainable option and prevention is much more valuable.
The reconnaissance plan is based on satellite data – but still we need to go out to the field to check. We usually start looking for fires in the mornings, but we rarely need our eyes to find any. You smell the smoke first. That leads you to burnt and smoldering fields.
The governments lax attitude also puts its own firefighters at risk – they arent even provided the same safety gear that volunteers crowdfund or buy for themselves.
The forest inspector and ranger Nikolay Makarenko told us that his departments task is to only report on wildfires in Bryansk, but because it takes such a long time for the fire brigade to arrive, the inspectors try to combat the danger themselves, mostly protected only by their everyday jacket and boots. Once the fire was so big he worked for two days straight and was forced to sleep in the contaminated forest.
Left: Geiger counter showing radiation levels. Right:This house in Stary Vyshkov village was burnt because of grass fires started by locals.
Photos retrieved fromwww.greenpeace.org on 17 of April 2016.
Officials are often reluctant even to admit there is a fire that needs to be put out. Last year, it took us two months of campaigning to make them eliminate a big peat fire.
The government is reckless and does not give proper protection to people living in contaminated areas. They are cutting protection programmes that ensure much needed monitoring, health treatments and uncontaminated food and they do not have an adequate solution to peat fires in these areas.
A Ministry of Emergency officer talks to a local woman to gather information. Photos retrieved fromwww.greenpeace.org on 17 of April 2016.
Please stand in solidarity with people like us trying to protect communities from the ongoing risk from Chernobyl. Tell the leaders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to give proper support and make sure another disaster like Chernobyl does not happen again. Nuclear energy should be buried in the past.
Students at Mississippi State University successfully tested a new chemical that could potentially stop wildfires from ruining homes on Saturday.
Anna Barker came up with the idea after she saw news footage of a man trying to save his house with a garden hose.
So we just created a system that would release this polymer in an event of a wildfire, and hopefully protect any kind of residential property if a wildfire were coming through, she said.
Barker met with several engineers about the idea, and chose to partner with Kagen Crawford on the project.
Engineers and business partners coincide in the real world, Crawford said. So this really brings the university feel of every major being separated to the real world of every major works together to make something happen.
The team created a sprinkler system to go on a dog house. Then, the chemical was sprayed onto the house. They used a blowtorch on the wood, and the house did not catch on fire.
“We’re super excited it didn’t catch fire and that we think it’s actually going to work,” Barker said.
A diluted version of the chemical was used during the test. The actual polymer will be three times as strong.
If the chemical does become a household item, homeowners wont have to worry about it hurting the environment or themselves.
It is nontoxic, noncorrosive, and biodegradable. It is OCEA and EPA approved and the only fire polymer substance to ever be approved by the U.S. Forestry Service, Barker said.
The Starkville Fire Department watched over the trial run. The team thanked the city for letting them use their services.
Graphic Design major McKinley Ranager is also helping the team with promotions.
They also demonstrated the chemicals ability in other ways throughout the day. They soaked their arms with the substance and attempted to light it on fire. They also soaked one piece of cardboard with it. Then, lit that piece and another on fire. Only the cardboard without the substance burned.
Barker has had this idea for around a year. Between research and development, the engineering department, the chemistry department, and other supporters, the polymer is now ready for testing. She credits them for helping her idea come to life.
“We were a little nervous,” Barker said. “Working with student grant funding and doing everything small scale, you’re a little bit nervous on if this tiny prototype can really pertray what a large scale system would be like.”
– See more at: http://www.wtva.com/news/MSU_students_work_to_stop_wildfire_home_destruction.html#sthash.WOoq008f.dpuf
