Russian soldiers drove through Chernobyl's highly toxic Red Forest, what it means

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, some 16.5 kilometers northwest of the city of Chernobyl, is once again in the news. Some workers at the site have raised doubts about possible internal radiation in the bodies of Russian soldiers who seized the site. 

According to the workers, these Russian soldiers drove armoured vehicles without radiation protection through Chernobyl's highly toxic 'Red Forest', kicking up clouds of radioactive dust. Red Forest is the most radioactively contaminated part of the zone around Chernobyl. The nuclear plant is 16 kilometers from the Belarus-Ukraine border and about 100 kilometers north of capital Kyiv.

The two sources, who spoke to Reuters, said soldiers in the convoy did not use any anti-radiation gear. The second Chernobyl employee said that was 'suicidal' for the soldiers because the radioactive dust they inhaled was likely to cause internal radiation in their bodies.

Ukraine's state nuclear inspectorate said on February 25 there had been an increase in radiation levels at Chernobyl as a result of heavy military vehicles disturbing the soil. Russian tanks entered Chernobyl on February 24 and took control of the site.

Read | Ukraine calls for ceasefire to repair Chernobyl power line amid radiation risk

The Russian military convoy went through the zone, using an abandoned road, one employee said. "A big convoy of military vehicles drove along a road right behind our facility and this road goes past the Red Forest," said one of the sources. "The convoy kicked up a big column of dust. Many radiation safety sensors showed exceeded levels," he said.

How 'Red Forest' got its name?

The Red Forest is the 10-square-kilometer area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant within the Exclusion Zone located in Polesia.

The site got its name when dozens of square kilometers of pine trees turned red after absorbing radiation from the 1986 explosion.

This was one of the world's worst nuclear disasters that happened in Chernobyl. A vast area around Chernobyl is off limits to anyone who does not work there or have special permission.

Red Forest is considered so highly contaminated that even the nuclear plant workers are not allowed to go there.

What led to the formation of 'Red Forest'?

Soon after midnight on April 26, 1986, a steam explosion and ensuing fire at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant led to the single greatest uncontrolled environmental release of radioactivity.

The blast collapsed the roof of Reactor 4, exposing the continuously melting core and spewing clouds of smoke, dust and radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

West of the plant, a 400-hectare section of pine forest received the most significant fallout dosage with radiation so intense that many of the trees died instantly, turning a rustic bright orange.

The staggering variation in colour earned the now world-renown name, the 'Red Forest', the most radioactively contaminated part of the zone around Chernobyl. 

The explosion and ensuing fire contaminated the soil, water and atmosphere with 400 times more radioactive material than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, a conservative estimate.

Hundreds of thousands of people had to be permanently evacuated, including the entire town of Pripyat, forming the 2,600 km Chernobyl Exclusion Zone where the Red Forest lies today.

Side effects of Chernobyl radiation

Increased risk of thyroid cancer has been one of the most important adverse health effects observed after the accident.

The energy from ionizing radiation breaks the chemical bonds in DNA, resulting in a number of different types of damage.

The initial steam explosion resulted in the deaths of two workers. 134 plant staff and emergency workers suffered ARS.

Due to high doses of radiation, 28 of plant staff and emergency workers later died from acute radiation syndrome (ARS).

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine was the largest uncontrolled radioactive release in history.

The explosions and fire caused the release of large amounts of radioactive iodine and cesium into the air, mostly near the plant.

(With Reuters Inputs)