August 2009 Archives
On August 29, 2009, a wolf in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone attacked six workers at a sanitary facility near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The wolf, which exhibited signs of rabies, rushed the workers before they had time to get to safety.As a result of the attack, four workers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and two workers from the contractor Ukrenergomontazh were injured. All victims were hospitalized in specialized health care units in Slavutych and Ivankov. Their conditions are described as satisfactory.
The wolf was later shot and killed by Chernobyl police officers in the area of the long-term waste storage facility near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Kiev area veterinarians performed tests and confirmed the wolf had rabies.
My friend Sergiy has more information on his website about wolves in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Photo courtesy of http://www.choronobyl.in.ua/
The Ukrainian government has approved a national strategy for the safe handling and disposal of radioactive waste that has accumulated across the country. Implementation of the plan is expected to start in 2010 and continue for 50 years.
Radioactive Waste Accumulation
At the beginning of 2009, Ukraine had accumulated 2,724,7 thousand cubic meters of solid radioactive waste, including:
Radioactive Waste Accumulation
At the beginning of 2009, Ukraine had accumulated 2,724,7 thousand cubic meters of solid radioactive waste, including:
- 1,913 thousand cubic meters in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
- 600 thousand cubic meters within the Chernobyl Sarcophagus
- 171 thousand cubic meters from the decontamination of waste disposal sites
- 20,000 cubic meters at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
- 18,570 cubic meters at other nuclear power plants
- Stage 1 (8 years): Establish a national organization for radioactive waste management, removal of radioactive waste from storage plants, establish a container fleet, construct and commission storage facilities for the disposal of short-lived, low- and intermediate level waste and the storage of highly active and long-lived, low- and intermediate level wastes.
- Stage 2 (30 years): Provide for the burial of short-lived, low- and intermediate level wastes, construct and commission a repository for the disposal of high-level, long-lived, low- and intermediate level wastes and develop technologies for the removal of waste from within the original Sarcophagus at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
- Stage 3: Complete the disposal of waste from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Sarcophagus. This involves deep processing of radioactive wastes on the sites of nuclear power plants, conditioning and storage of radioactive waste containers with further transport to a central repository, the creation of a certified container fleet and the capacity to produce the vehicles, etc.
Today marks the 18th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Celebrations included a military parade down Kyiv's Khreschatik Street and the placement of a huge flower clock in Independence Square. The clock is huge, with a 5 meter-long minute hand and a 3 meter-long hour hand. Its diameter is 19.5 meters, the largest in the world. Yes, the clock does display the actual time.Поздравляю!
I rarely post anything off topic on this website, but after watching the following videos, I had to post it. These videos are of of 24-year old Ukrainian artist Kseniya Simonova performing what is known as "sand animation."
Simonova uses a giant light box, dramatic music, her own imagination and "sand painting" skills. She first started making these types of drawings last year on the beach. She ended up on Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent" and won the competition.
After watching this, you'll understand why - I was completely dumbstruck and speechless. Amazing and breathtaking are words that just can't accurately describe this performance.
Simonova uses a giant light box, dramatic music, her own imagination and "sand painting" skills. She first started making these types of drawings last year on the beach. She ended up on Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent" and won the competition.
After watching this, you'll understand why - I was completely dumbstruck and speechless. Amazing and breathtaking are words that just can't accurately describe this performance.
Radiant Girl by Andrea White, Bright Sky Press, 2008 Radiant Girl, a coming-of-age children's book by author Andrea White, is the fictional account of Katya Dubko, an 11-year old girl who lives in Yanov, a village located very near to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
On the evening of April 25, 1986, while Katya's family is preparing for her eleventh birthday celebration, she wanders into the nearby woods and meets a mysterious boy named Vasyl, who tells her that her world will be destroyed by an explosion. In the early morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, throwing Katya's young life into a tailspin.
Katya's father Ivan is an upstanding supporter of the Soviet Union's Communist Party and refuses to accept the seriousness of the situation caused by the Chernobyl accident.
Following the accident, Katya must contend with:
- The evacuation of her small village to Kyiv
- Moving to a new town (Slavutych)
- Various family health concerns
- Volatile friendships
- Her overly-patriotic father, who works at the Chernobyl Plant
This is a children's book, yet is still an enjoyable read for adults. The author did a wonderful job weaving fantasy and historically accurate details together to provide readers with insights into the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident and its affects on the residents of what is now known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
If you are like me and know a lot about the Chernobyl accident and the Exclusion Zone, you will notice a few inaccuracies scattered throughout the story. I know the author conducted extensive research for this story to be as accurate as possible (I have personally seen some of her notes), therefore I assume these inaccuracies are due to poetic license and didn't let them bother me, at least not too much.
My only criticism about Radiant Girl is that I wanted more details - maybe 50-60 pages more. Of course, that may just be me and my complete obsession with everything about Chernobyl and my constant search for more information and details.
Overall, this is an educational, emotional and haunting story that I enjoyed very much. If I did not have other things to do, I could have easily finished this book in one day. If you have not yet read Radiant Girl, get it as soon as possible. I highly recommend it.
