Firefighters had been struggling to control the wildfires inside the 18-mile Exclusion Zone that surrounds the power station for 10 days. On Monday the fires had come within a mile of the station itself, with local guides warning they were out of control.
In a statement, Zelenskiy’s office said he had been briefed by the chief of the state emergency service, Mykola Chechotkin, who said there was already no open flames in the Exclusion Zone. Chechotkin said that firefighters would now need a “few more days” to put out the ground which was still smoldering.
. “The level of radiation background is constantly being measured, but based on the data that we have, on the whole everything is within the norm,” he wrote on Facebook. “We need to say a big thank to the firefighters who fought the fire for 10 days." a day earlier accused the government of concealing the severity of the problem and warned much of the site around the power station was at risk of destruction.
Strong winds on Monday had made the fires particularly severe. Chechotkin, the emergency service head, said firefighting aircraft had flown 227 flights and dumped 500 tonnes of water on Monday to contain the fires and had succeeded in preventing them from spreading to power stations or any of the dangerous sites around it.
Radiation levels within the Zone are generally not above normal—most of the highly radioactive material has been buried and absorbed by vegetation and into the area’s water cycle. The fire though releases some radioactive particles as it burns contaminated vegetation and there had been worries that smoke carrying them might be inhaled although authorities said there was no danger in Kyiv or its surroundings.
The Exclusion Zone also now resembles a nature reserve despite the radioactive contamination, as the absence of humans has seen nature return, with species all but vanished in other parts of Europe re-appearing. Olena Gnes, a guide at Yemelianenko’s company, Chernobyl Tour, said the fires had been destroying that habitat.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fire raging near Ukraine's Chernobyl poses radiation risk, say activistsA huge forest fire in Ukraine that has been raging for more than a week is now just one kilometre from the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant and poses a radiation risk, Greenpeace Russia warned on Monday, citing satellite images.
Read more »
Fire raging near Ukraine's Chernobyl poses radiation risk – activistsVideo footage shot by Reuters on Sunday showed plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky and trees still ablaze, with firefighters in helicopters trying to put out the fires.
Read more »
Smithfield CEO Warns of Risks to Pork SupplySmithfield Foods will keep its Sioux Falls, S.D., pork plant closed indefinitely at the urging of the state’s governor, though the company’s chief executive warned of dire consequences for farmers and consumers.
Read more »
UK finance minister says GDP may fall by up to 30% amid virus crisis: paperBritain's gross domestic product (GDP) could fall by up to 30% between April and June, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak told his colleagues as members of the cabinet call for easing lockdown restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Times reported.
Read more »
Coronavirus not yet contained in Germany: Robert Koch instituteA lower number of new coronavirus cases in Germany in recent days is likely due to less testing over Easter and the outbreak is not yet contained, the head of the Robert Koch health institute said on Tuesday.
Read more »