Ukrainian officials have said gamma radiation dose rates at the Chernobyl exclusion zone have exceeded "control levels" at a "significant number of observation points" after the power plant was captured by Russian forces.
In a Twitter statement Friday morning, Ukraine's Parliament said data from the automated radiation monitoring system of the exclusion zone had reflected a change in dose rates, which refer to the quantity of radiation that can be absorbed per unit time.
"But now it is currently impossible to establish the reasons for the change in the radiation background in the exclusion zone because of the occupation and military fight in this territory," it said.
In a separate statement, the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine said that fluctuations in the performance of sensors could potentially be attributed to the disruption of topsoil "due to the movement of a large number of heavy military equipment through the exclusion zone and the release of contaminated radioactive dust into the air."
"The condition of nuclear facilities and other Chernobyl facilities is unchanged," it said.
The Chernobyl nuclear accident unfolded on April 26, 1986, near Pripyat, in the north of the country, which was then part of the Soviet Union.
Source: NBCNEWS
