War in Ukraine Threstens Nuke Plants

On February 26, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported "Russian forces have taken control of" the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, when it was owned and operated by the now former Soviet Union.

On February 25, the Ukrainian nuclear regulatory agency informed the IAEA of "elevated levels of radiation" at the site, which the IAEA said was "possibly from heavy vehicles churning up contaminated soil."

The IAEA in turn claimed the "radiation levels did not pose any threat to the public."

The agency further reported," No further radiation data from the Exclusion Zone (Chernobyl) has been received."

The above raises further questions. Why is the soil at Chernobyl still contaminated 30 some years after the disaster? And why would anyone expect to receive more 'radiation data" from the site from a hostile force?

Beyond Nuclear is a US organization "Working for a world free from nuclear power and nuclear weapons."

In a recent report it revealed the Ukraine in fact has four active nuclear power plants with 15 nuclear reactors. They produce about half of the country's electricity.

The largest of them has six reactors. By comparison, no US nuclear plant has more than three reactors.

This Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine is the largest electrical power plant in Europe.

Now, as weapons of mass destruction are proliferating across Ukraine and Russia's nuclear forces are on high alert, all these nuclear facilities are sitting ducks, and all our lives hang in the balance.


Michael Steinberg is a veteran activist and journalist, whose family came from Ukraine.