UK-Ukraine team to boost Chornobyl radiation monitoring

The NATO-backed project will see monitoring equipment deployed across the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) as well as inside the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) itself. According to the project partners, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accentuated some of the potential dangers associated with Chornobyl, with an increased threat of extremist and state-sponsored groups gaining access to material for a ‘dirty bomb’.

One key aspect of the programme will see the installation of systems capable of ‘rapidly and non-intrusively' screening both people and vehicles for nuclear and radioactive material, alongside systems for dealing with the contamination that may result from a critical incident. As well as helping to deter and detect bad actors in and around the Chornobyl site, the monitoring equipment could also help play a role in the continued decommissioning of the plant and clean-up of the surrounding area.

“This is an incredibly timely project, with the award of funding from NATO to sponsor this joint UK-Ukraine research enabling scientists and engineers from both countries to collaborate across a number of key nuclear and radiation detection challenges,” said Bristol University’s Dr Peter Martin, an expert in nuclear energy, radiation physics, and reactor accidents, and the leader of the project.