Scientist On Smog Over Belarusian Cities: It's Better To Leave If It's Possible

9.09.2024, 17:55
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The authorities and the Emergencies Ministry are still silent.

Residents of Belarusian cities have been facing haze and the smell of burning for several days in the air. All the fault forest fires in the area of the Charnobyl zone.

Lelchytsy spent the City Day covered with radioactive smoke. The authorities and the Emergencies Ministry are still silent.

How dangerous is it for the health of Belarusians? The Charter97.org website asked Andrei Ozharovsky, a physicist and expert at the Radioactive Waste Safety Program, for a comment:

— Fires in natural areas exposed to radioactive contamination as a result of the Charnobyl disaster can lead to the secondary transfer of radioactive substances.

Substances are incorporated into wood and peat. When burned, they fall into the air and can be transported for tens or even hundreds of kilometers.

Tests of the concentration of radioactive aerosols in the air can show how serious the threat is. It demands special equipment: you need to pump large volumes of air through the filters, and then analyze the aerosols remaining on the filters.

If it shows the presence of Charnobyl markers, for example, Cesium-137, then measures should be taken to protect the population.

This raises a question for the authorities of Belarus, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, whether the concentration of radionuclides was measured in the territory where the smoke from the fires was brought? So far, I have not been able to find an answer to this question. There is indirect evidence that people are in smoke. From the space images, it is obvious that this smoke came from the Charnobyl contamination zone.

It's necessary to test it. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to understand this with household appliances (civil monitoring methods). It is necessary to make comparisons with the indicators of the dose rate typical for this area.

Someone must have the dosimeter turned on permanently. If these indicators increase after a change in the wind or the appearance of haze, then this may be evidence of pollution. Unfortunately, environmental organizations in Belarus that could be engaged in such radiation control are listed as "extremists" by the authorities. The state, I repeat, has no data.

I will add that the greatest danger to human health is not the increase in the concentration of radioactive substances in the soil. In the Homel region, believe me, there is already a huge concentration. Namely, that people can inhale radioactive aerosols and get them inside. Internal radiation is much more dangerous than external.

Right now, while the haze is felt, the tips are standard: if there is an opportunity, then leave to wait it out. In particular, it is necessary to evacuate children under 5 years of age and pregnant women.

For the rest, it is logical to use the medical masks and other respiratory protection that have been around since covid times. This is useful in any case, and it does not matter whether radioactive aerosols are in the air, or just dust from forest fires.

If it rains now and precipitation occurs somewhere, the redistribution of radioactive substances will be insignificant in the Homel region (which has already been subjected to the strongest pollution).

Nevertheless, radioactive substances will be brought to those places that have already been cleaned. First of all, cities where roads are well washed. There may indeed be a noticeable increase in the dose rate, which is recorded by conventional dosimeters.

That's Ministry of Emergency Situations' turn. We are waiting for data on the concentration of radioactive substances in the air, I, however, doubt that the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus is doing this.

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Scientist On Smog Over Belarusian Cities: It's Better To Leave If It's Possible

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