Nearly four decades after the 1986 nuclear disaster, Chornobyl is still contaminated with almost half the caesium-137 that exploded from the Unit 4 reactor, as well as longer-lived hazards such as plutonium, tritium and americium, according to multiple reports. The giant containment structure around the most radioactive area inside the defunct plant will need €500m worth of repairs after a strike by a Russian drone. Inside the containment structure is an estimated four tonnes of radioactive dust, fuel pellets and other debris from the disaster.
More than 300,000 people were evacuated from the Chornobyl plant and the surrounding 4,200 sq km area. The official death toll stands at 134 people, mostly firefighters and plant workers. The National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine will publish an assessment of the impact of the Chornobyl disaster this week. Its last update in 2022 recognized 41,000 fatalities. A study by outside experts in 2006 estimated 4,000 to 16,000 deaths from the disaster.
Wolf populations are seven times higher than they were before the accident because there is less human pressure.
Despite the contamination, wildlife has rebounded in the exclusion zone. According to The Guardian - Environment, environmental scientist Jim Smith described wolf populations as seven times higher than before the accident due to reduced human pressure. Elk, roe, deer and rabbit populations are reportedly flourishing in the zone.