Tons of Scrap Metal Removed from Chernobyl Zone Daily
New reports indicate that up to 100 tons of scrap metal are removed from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone every day. Approximately half this amount is legally removed by the government, but the other half is smuggled out to the rest of the world.
Thieves who were caught by the Ukrainian Security Service in May apparently had been operating under the guise of being Security Service personnel. This allowed them to operate undetected for such a long time.
According to the Union of Liquidators of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, over the past two years criminal groups have removed nearly 80,000 tons of ferrous and nonferrous metal from the Zone. Estimates place the remaining amount of scrap metal in the Zone at approximately 1.5 million tons with an estimated value of one billion Ukrainian Hryvnia, or roughly $222,000,000 US.
Well, if you ever wondered why criminals would risk their health to steal scrap metal from the Zone, now you know why.
Thieves who were caught by the Ukrainian Security Service in May apparently had been operating under the guise of being Security Service personnel. This allowed them to operate undetected for such a long time.
According to the Union of Liquidators of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, over the past two years criminal groups have removed nearly 80,000 tons of ferrous and nonferrous metal from the Zone. Estimates place the remaining amount of scrap metal in the Zone at approximately 1.5 million tons with an estimated value of one billion Ukrainian Hryvnia, or roughly $222,000,000 US.
Well, if you ever wondered why criminals would risk their health to steal scrap metal from the Zone, now you know why.
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