The Chernobyl story : updated to today
History buffs will love this:
The issue here is that the original Chernobyl sarcophagus, built in just six months, had always been meant as a temporary solution. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spoke of the need to replace the structure.
«The possible instability of the sarcophagus is a significant problem.The concern is mostly related to the fact that essential supports of the main construction had to be built by remote control without fixings such as welding and bolt connections,» — the IAEA stated in a report conducted a decade after the Chernobyl disaster.
The story is as long as a short book so, I will not incorporate it here. Link is at the end.
What was a surprise to me when I first picked this up as an issue, is the abundance of unaffected wildlife in the exclusion zone.
While the exclusion zone around Chernobyl is all but deserted of human activity, the same cannot be said for the animal population, which has thrived in the last three decades. A 2015 study entitled ‘Long-term census data reveal abundant wildlife populations at Chernobyl,’ led by Tatyana Deryabina, found that there are «relative abundances of elk, roe deer, red deer and wild boar within the Chernobyl exclusion zone,» and they are similar to the levels found in unaffected areas in Belarus. However, the wolf population is seven times higher in the exclusion zone.
«These results demonstrate for the first time that, regardless of potential radiation effects on individual animals, the Chernobyl exclusion zone supports an abundant mammal community after nearly three decades of chronic radiation exposures,» the study stated.
Something modern, that I bet none of us knew. I’m trying to embed Chen Weihua’s tweet but it is inextricably glued to Zelenski’s. Ignore that one!
Ukrainians should thank Cuba and support Cuba against U.S. oil embargo. But Ukraine voted with US lately in the UN against Cuba. That’s ungrateful. Cuban leader Fidel Castro built a sanatorium in the beautiful Caribbean coast Talala for the treatment of victims suffering from…
— Chen Weihua （陈卫华） (@chenweihua) April 26, 2026
The Story:
For 40 years now, the name Chernobyl has been the synonym of the world’s first major nuclear disaster.
The events of April 26, 1986 would precipitate changes in the way nuclear power was viewed. The disaster not only changed the lives of tens of thousands living in the vicinity of the power plant, but also the surrounding landscape, which became unsafe for habitation for thousands of years.