Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power company, said yesterday that soldiers had received “significant doses of radiation” after building trench fortifications in the Red Forest, a highly toxic area around the abandoned plant. The site got its name when tens of square miles of pine trees turned red after absorbing radiation from a 1986 explosion at a reactor, one of the worst nuclear disasters in the world. Russian troops “panicked at the first sign of illness,” which “appeared very quickly,” and began preparing to leave, Energatom said. Seven buses carrying Russian soldiers, believed to be suffering from the effects of the acute radiation syndrome, have arrived at the Belar Radiology Center in Belarus, according to the Ukrainian news agency Unian. Although Russian troops seized control of Chernobyl immediately after the February 24 invasion, Ukrainian plant personnel continued to oversee the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and the remains of the damaged reactor enclosed by a enclosure. Energoatom said the workers had indicated earlier in the day that Russian forces were planning to leave. “Information is confirmed that the occupiers, who occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, have moved in two columns to the Ukrainian border with the Republic of Belarus,” it said in a statement. He said a small number of Russian troops remained at Chernobyl, but did not specify how many or give details. Russian forces have also retreated from the nearby town of Slavutych, where Chernobyl workers live, he said. Russian troops occupying the site drove their armored vehicles without radiation protection into the Red Forest, lifting clouds of radioactive dust, workers at the scene said. The two sources told Reuters that the soldiers in the convoy did not use anti-radiation equipment. A second Chernobyl official said it was “suicidal” for the soldiers because the radioactive dust they inhaled was likely to cause internal radiation to their bodies. The Red Forest is considered so polluted that even the workers at the nuclear plant are not allowed to go there. Valery Seida, deputy general manager of the Chernobyl plant, said: “No one goes there … in the name of God. “There is no one there.” Depending on the dose, radiation sickness can be fatal. Early symptoms include burning skin, vomiting, diarrhea and headaches. The exposed person often feels well for a period, after which the symptoms may return in the form of convulsions, fatigue and coma. The cause of death in most cases is the destruction of the bone marrow, which results in infections and internal bleeding. Chernobyl and the surrounding area have been largely ruled out by the explosion and fire that caused radioactive contamination across Europe. However, about 200 tonnes of fuel remain at the bottom of the disabled reactor, which remains relatively unprotected. Last week, the Ukrainian parliament reported that forest fires had been detected within the Chernobyl exclusion zone via satellite images obtained by the European Space Agency.
