The area in pink indicates the location of the roof collapse. It is about 50 meters (165 feet) away from the "sarcophagus," a shelter built shortly after the 1986 disaster to contain radiation emanating from the exploded reactor.

In 1986, Chernobyl unit 4 failed catastrophically and released huge amounts of radiation to the surrounding environment. In an attempt to contain what radiation remained, boron and sand were dumped on the melted core and a sarcophagus was hastily constructed and installed. The turbine hall that suffered the recent collapse, served all of the Chernobyl reactors and is near, but not covered by, the current sarcophagus. Although officials claim the sarcophagus was unaffected by the roof collapse, they failed to comment on the structural integrity of the remaining structure or the nearby sarcophagus. 

The new 2 billion dollar confinement currently under construction on site will cover the aging, unstable sarcophagus. It is unclear what the roof collapse means for this partially-built structure, meant to last for just 100 years, although officials say this construction was also not affected. Greenpeace has expressed concern that the current sarcophagus could follow the turbine hall and collapse and in book "The Children of Chernobyl" by Adi Roche, she details this risk, given the deteriorating condition of the original sarcophagus. A collapse of part of the structures surrounding Chernobyl Unit 4 is a sign that the deterioration is advancing to an extremely risky condition.

Some 80 construction workers were present at the site at the time of the incident, but no injuries were reported.

A massive concrete sarcophagus, which was built to contain leaking radiation from the exploded nuclear reactor, was not damaged by the roof collapse. International Business Times

The area in pink indicates the location of the roof collapse. It is about 50 meters (165 feet) away from the "sarcophagus," a shelter built shortly after the 1986 disaster to contain radiation emanating from the exploded reactor.

Volodymyr Goncharenko

As reported by EJOLT, "According to Goncharenko, during the past several years, scavengers have removed from the Chernobyl exclusion zone 6 million metric tons of scrap metal that was subsequently smelted at metallurgical combines and reprocessed into new metal. While in theory each metallurgical combine should be equipped with radiation-monitoring equipment to check all incoming scrap, financial shortfalls have meant this was rarely the case. In 2007 Ukraine ranked eighth in global steel production and steel is Ukraine’s leading export. One can only guess how much radioactive scrap metal has ended up in exported steel."

Pavlo Khazan of the Ukrainian Green Party stated: “We collaborated with Volodymyr for 15 years in professional and public areas. The Ukrainian Green Party has no doubt that the murder was linked to his professional activities.” Although the Ukrainian police have opened an investigation into Goncharenko's murder, Khazan feels that to deliver justice in this case, international attention and pressure will be needed.

Please contact the Embassy of Ukraine, urging a thorough investigation of Goncharenko's murder, as well as for an end to the "recycling" of radioactive metals and other materials into the consumer product stream. In the U.S., the Embassy of Ukraine can be written at 3350 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007, faxed at (202) 333-0817, or phoned at (202) 349-2920. Embassies and Consulates of Ukraine elsewhere in the U.S., or in other countries, can also be contacted.

Thanks to Nuclear Energy Information Service in Illinois for alerting us to this story.

Click here to learn more about anti-nuclear resistance to attempts at "radioactive recycling" in North America.

Last Thursday, Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps debated Victor Murogov, the Head of the International Nuclear Education Center and Professor at the National Research Nuclear University in Moscow. The debate was aired on the Voice of Russia Radio. The discussion revolved around the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, which President Obama attended last week.

"They come here to find out what the impacts are of a nuclear accident on the life that is left behind.

"The team's latest studies on birds suggest that the contamination is linked to some unusual genetic effects.

"One member of the team, biologist Gier Rudolfsen from the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, has been focusing on how the male birds' reproductive organs might be affected.

"The constant unzipping and replication of DNA required to produce millions of sperm cells each day means there are many opportunities for the biological assembly line to be broken." See BBC Nature for more detail and videos.

Chernobyl refugee, photo by Gabriela Bulisova

Beyond Nuclear has partnered with social documentary photographer Gabriela Bulisova to exhibit her Chernobyl photos in Vermont and New Hampshire, at this crucial time in the campaigns to prevent license extensions at the Vermont Yankee and Seabrook nuclear power plants. Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps will speak at Bulisova's opening on Tuesday, April 26th at Dartmouth College's (Hannover, New Hampshire) Russo Gallery in Haldeman Hall in cooperation with Dartmouth's Dickey Center for International Understanding. The Director of the Dickey Center, Kenneth S. Yalowitz, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus from 1994-1997, will also speak, as will Dartmouth students from Ukraine. Denis Rydjeski, Programs and Outings Chair, and the SIERRA CLUB of the Upper Valley in Springfield, VT, have made this exhibit possible with a generous donation, as well as all the ground work. Bulisova's photos can be viewed online; clicking the links to individual photos will enlarge them; some photos have captions (the remaining captions will be added in the near future). Bulisova's title, "Life on the Edge...The Half-Lives and Half-Truths of Chernobyl," and her artist's statement, provide additional insights on the work.

The Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance, which has helped lead the grassroots effort to shut down the dangerously deteriorated and leaking reactor, also have plans to exhibit Bulisova's photos in Montpelier and other places in Vermont in the coming months. Stay tuned for details!

Robert Knoth, Amsterdam based social documentary photographer, has also documented the devastation caused by Chernobyl, as well as other nuclear disasters across the former Soviet Union. These photos have been exhibited around the world -- except, that is, in the U.S.! Robert has asked Beyond Nuclear's help in getting his work exhibited here. If you are interested in bringing Robert's powerful photos to your area, please contact Kevin at Beyond Nuclear's office number, (301) 270-2209 ext. 1.

National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig is also fundraising in order to return to Chernboyl to continue his "Long Shadow of Chernobyl" project.