Russian seizure of Chernobyl could lead to the release of an 'uncontrollable monster' of radioactive material

THE founder and CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI) has made a plea for the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine to be declared a safe zone.

Adi Roche said that the seizure of the plant by Russian forces could lead to the release of an "uncontrollable monster" of radioactive material.

Ms Roche has led the international humanitarian response in the area around the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster for decades through her Cork-based charity, CCI.

In a statement released last night, she said that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had vast silos of nuclear waste and water, which are highly dangerous and volatile. 

The releasing of such material, she said, would be her "worst nightmare" come true.

"I appeal on behalf of all humanity to the warring armies, under the Hague Conventions, that the highly contaminated area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, with its thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive material, not be targeted or used as areas of shelling, bombardment, and ground fighting," Ms Roche said.

"My worst nightmare in this conflict is that the tragedy of the Chernobyl disaster could be re-released on the world. 

"I fear that this area, a sacred area, an area of utter vulnerability and danger, a special area of human tragedy, could once again have deadly radioactive contamination released which would spread everywhere like a great and uncontrollable monster."

The exclusion zone between Ukraine and Belarus, near Chernobyl, is the most radioactive environment in the world, according to Ms Roche.

"There are hundreds of shallow ‘nuclear graves’ which are scattered throughout the exclusion zone holding the contents of thousands of houses, machinery, buses, and trucks that have been buried to keep the radiation underground," Ms Roche said.

"Should a bomb, missile, a shot-down plane or a helicopter crash into this area, the consequences could be disastrous.

"In the name of humanity, in the name of the children, please stop this war and declare the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as a Safe No War Zone."