Summary
Highlights
The NSC was designed for a dormant reactor, but Chernobyl's core is not inert; it's chemically unstable. The neutron spikes, groundwater contamination, and aerosol particles are all evidence of physical changes within the core. The Elephant's Foot, once thought to be a solid, stable rock, is actually radioactive glass being pulverized by its own atomic decay into sand-like consistency. This internal fracturing and rearrangement of uranium may explain the rising neutron activity in Room 305/2, making the containment challenge more complex as the core grinds itself into airborne powder.
A $1.7 billion steel tomb, the New Safe Confinement (NSC), was built over Chernobyl to contain the radioactive mass beneath. However, the 'Elephant's Foot' is disintegrating into radioactive dust that can bypass the NSC's filtration systems, posing a new threat. The NSC, a massive structure, encases the original crumbling Sarcophagus built in 1986. It operates with a negative pressure system and advanced filtration to trap particles, but the materials inside are not behaving as expected.
Scientists detected increasing neutron activity within the confinement, suggesting new nuclear reactions. The damaged core, instead of stabilizing, is actively falling apart and forming radioactive dust. The reactor core melted into a substance called corium, containing 95% of the original uranium, which can still initiate nuclear reactions. Reports in 2021 confirmed the disintegration of these fuel-containing materials, complicating the dismantling process.
The official story of the 1986 Chernobyl explosion is challenged. Detection of radioactive xenon gas far from Chernobyl suggested a violent, intense burst of nuclear fission at the moment of the explosion, not just a steam explosion. This theory implies a small, nuclear explosion occurred first, with a steam explosion following, meaning whatever produced this initial burst is still present in the melted core.
In Room 305/2, located deep beneath Reactor Four, sensors detected a 40% to nearly double increase in neutron levels between 2016 and 2021. This indicates ongoing nuclear fission. Groundwater had previously stabilized the material by slowing and absorbing neutrons, but the NSC reduced water infiltration, leading to a drying out effect and increased fission. While a runaway explosion is unlikely, the core is confirmed to be reacting, generating heat and radiation.
The Red Forest, a highly contaminated area, saw its soil disturbed by Russian tanks in 2022. While initial radiation spikes were debunked as electronic warfare interference, the soil's chemical toxicity is worsening. Plutonium-241 is decaying into Americium-241, a more dangerous and persistent alpha emitter. This more toxic material is sinking into the groundwater beneath the reactor.
Beneath the exclusion zone, a system of underground rivers called aquifers connects to the Dnieper River, a primary water source for millions. Early models assumed a thick clay layer would contain contamination, but later surveys revealed cracks and pathways. Radioactive colloids, microscopic particles, are hitching rides on water through these cracks, carrying elements like plutonium farther and faster than predicted. A 2022 study confirmed the presence of radioactive elements in the groundwater, highlighting that containment is working in unexpected and more complex ways.