A Silent Night in Chernobyl
Radiation, an inseparable component of our modern-day science and technology, has long been ubiquitous in our society. From microwave ovens in our homes to Wi-Fi and 5G technology on our phones, radiation is indispensable in our everyday life. Its usefulness even extends to the field of medicine. Radiation is a valuable medical tool that helps cure cancer (ironically, however, it can cause other detrimental health issues such as damaging tissues, which may lead to cancer). The role of radiation has become even more critical lately as its application can possibly become a threat to global safety as we face the risk of large-scale effects of a global radioactive fallout.
History has witnessed the damage radiation did to Fukushima and Goiania. The tragic events, unfortunately, can be repeated if we don’t take actions as a global community. Researchers and scientists around the world have found Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, - specifically the site of Chernobyl, to be alarmingly concerning. Large traces of radiation can still be found within the surroundings, and the reactor itself still remains one of the most radioactive places on Earth. As Putin continues to refuse to acknowledge his occupation of Chernobyl, with Russian soldiers digging trenches, looting the nearby city of Pripyat and settling next to the reactors, our risk of provoking a global threat is likely to increase.
To understand the significance of Chernobyl’s radiation, which had been dead for nearly 40 years, we must look back at what happened during the incident. Due to a combination of flawed designs, mistakes, and lack of training and care for safety, on April 26th, 1986, reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant combusted, releasing extreme amounts of radioactive elements into the air. This raised immediate concern on a global scale as air currents spreading these radioactive elements could have taken a massive radioactive cloud through Europe and the Americas, threatening to contaminate a vast majority of European air, water and soil, estimating death toll counts in the millions. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Chernobyl liquidators, the death count is estimated to be around 30 people, and the areas that had visible impacts were only limited to within 500 kilometers. The reactor had to be covered in a sarcophagus, the only solution to preventing the radiation from continually trying to escape, which still remains to this day. However, due to the mass and the poor design of the sarcophagus, officials predict that the sarcophagus is bound to cave into itself at any moment, threatening the release of all the radioactive particles still trapped inside the reactor and triggering another nuclear fallout of the entirety of Europe as the rest of the power plant is being dismantled.
To prevent threats such as these massive radiation fallouts from occurring, multiple global organizations and efforts made by many countries have been made in an attempt to prevent the meltdown of our world. Not only are reactors forced to go through a mandatory safety check from the government organization in the United States, but in a similar case of Russia’s capture of Chernobyl, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission enforces high security standards, regarding these power plants as the “best-protected private sector facilities in the nation”.” There have been clear strides towards banning nuclear weapons and energy entirely even after the initial ban of producing, testing, possessing and threatening all nukes in 2017 and bans of power plants in certain regions of the US. Despite all these treaties, Russia has recently threatened to rain nuclear fire upon America and Ukraine, with a total of nine countries still possessing nukes to this day, constantly keeping the threat of an all out global nuclear war looming over our heads. We need to take more action in keeping every country responsible and in line with the treaties that we have created to prevent the destruction of all civilizations in the hands of these bombs.
