Chernobyl workers in Ukraine saw a record increase in nuclear activity

 Scientists have recorded an increase in nuclear activity in the destroyed nuclear reactor of the Chernobyl power plant,Ukraine

                                  

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant , Ukraine

 

Chernobyl Nuclear activity increases in plant, the increase has flattened out and does not exceed safety standards, employees said on Wednesday. He said the increase in "neutron flux density" which, if significant, could indicate an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, posed no threat to such an event according to his mathematical models. 

Due to the high radiation and damage, it is not possible to precisely determine the situation under the destroyed block. "After the establishment of a new safe barrier,

 which has been in its designated position for more than four years, an increase in the density of the neutron flux is observed," say scientists from the Ukrainian Institute for Problems with the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants.

 Plants said in a statement. “The sensor values ​​are currently stable in all rooms and are not showing any upward trend. Current levels pose no risk of a self-sustaining chain reaction, the Chernobyl plant said in a separate statement. 

The fourth rector in Chernobyl, 108 km north of the capital Kiev, exploded in April 1986 during a failed safety test in the world's worst nuclear accident. Radiant clouds were sent over much of Europe and tens of thousands of people had to evacuate.

 Scientists say the increase in neutron flux was recorded in a unit that nuclear fuel from the destroyed reactor may have entered during installation. 

Scientists from the Ukrainian Institute for Safety Issues at Nuclear Power Plants said that before installation work on the new shelter began, the fuel was cooled with rainwater in late 2016, which had since disappeared.

"Based on predictive estimates, the density of the neutron flux is expected to increase in the future, which is determined by the process of moisture loss," it said in a statement. "Current experimental data have confirmed this hypothesis," they said, adding that they carefully examined and monitored the damaged unit.