Belarus to test reusability of land near Chernobyl
August 5th, 2011 - 7:34 am ICT by IANSMinsk, Aug 5 (IANS) Belarus will examine the possibility of reusing thousands of hectares of lands near the disaster-hit Chernobyl nuclear plant, an official said.
“Over the 25 years that have passed since the disaster, elements such as caesium and strontium - the key pollutants of the territories - have already half disintegrated. That is why the issue of the reuse of such lands is coming to the fore,” Vladimir Chernikov, director of the department for liquidation of the Chernobyl aftermath, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Belarusian specialists believe that some of these lands might be used for “planting trees, grass, probably not for growing food crops but rather for seed growing or for growing technical cultures”.
Chernikov said some of the polluted territories, such as the Polessky radiation reserves, have been put out of use for centuries. Other lands will be assessed by experts within two months.
The nuclear powere plant was located around 16 km from the Ukraine-Belarus border.
On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl’s reactor No.4 suffered a catastrophic power increase, leading to explosions in its core. This dispersed large quantities of radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere and ignited the combustible graphite moderator.
The cost of the Chernobyl disaster in Belarus was estimated at $235 billion, and over the past 25 years, Belarus has spent more than $19 billion in dealing with the disaster.
- Norway attacker took paramilitary training in Belarus - Jul 28, 2011
- Biofuels may be used to clean up Chernobyl 'badlands' - Jun 29, 2009
- Belarus to recycle nuclear waste in Russia - Dec 23, 2011
- Kyrgyzstan remembers Chernobyl n-disaster victims - Apr 27, 2012
- Belarus to build vertical takeoff drones - Apr 05, 2012
- Belarus seeks IMF loan of up to $7 bn - Oct 16, 2011
- Russia to sell missile systems to Belarus - Apr 19, 2012
- Belarus should float ruble, freeze salaries: IMF (Lead) - Jun 14, 2011
- Belarus has the right to IMF loan: PM - Jun 14, 2011
- Inquiry blames Japan n-plant operator for disaster - Dec 27, 2011
- Russia restricts Belarusian airline - Apr 06, 2012
- EU decides to withdraw all envoys to Belarus (Lead, Changing Dateline) - Feb 29, 2012
- Russia to build first nuclear power plant in Belarus - Oct 12, 2011
- Radiation detected on Japan seabed - Jun 28, 2011
- Japan royal couple visit tsunami-hit town Minamisanriku - Apr 27, 2011
Tags: april 26 1986, belarusian, caesium, chernobyl disaster, chernobyl nuclear plant, core materials, explosions, food crops, graphite moderator, hectares, liquidation, minsk, planting trees, pollutants, radioactive fuel, reactor, reusability, technical cultures, vladimir, xinhua