Is the elephant's foot still dangerous?

Is the elephant's foot still dangerous?

It remains an extremely radioactive object; however, its danger has decreased over time due to the decay of its radioactive components.

Will the elephant's foot explode?

During a safety test, the uranium core inside reactor 4 of the plant overheated to a temperature of more than 2,912 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, a chain of nuclear reactions caused it to explode, ripping through its 1,000-metric-ton concrete and steel lid.

Can you touch the elephant's foot?

Still, merely 500 seconds of exposure at this level would bring on mild radiation sickness, and a little over an hour of exposure would prove fatal. The Elephant's Foot is still dangerous, but human curiosity and attempts to contain our mistakes keep us coming back to it.

Is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant still burning?

• It and other collections of corium and parts of the reactor are still hot in a radioactive sense, but not especially in a thermal sense. The chain reaction has stopped. However, the chain reaction leaves radioactive products. There are many radioactive isotopes permeating the Cherbobyl area. So there is a lot of ionizing radiationthere.

Why is the elephant's foot still at the base of Chernobyl?

• Born of human error, continually generating copious heat, the Elephant’s Foot is still melting into the base of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. If it hits ground water, it could trigger another catastrophic explosion or leach radioactive material into the water nearby residents drink.

Is the Chernobyl nuclear site still safe to visit?

• Within it, workers are still busy keeping the site safe. They monitor radiation, and eventually plan to dismantle the concrete sarcophagus and remove the nuclear fuel. Tourists have even returned - although they are kept out of the most radioactive sites. Every year tens of thousands now visit, often to see the haunting ruins of abandoned towns.

What kind of radiation is in the Chernobyl reactor?

• There are many radioactive isotopes permeating the Cherbobyl area. So there is a lot of ionizing radiationthere. Spontaneous radioactive decay is much slower than a chain reaction. The chain reaction produces a lot of dangerous radiation in a short time. However, radioactive decay can cause equally dangerous radiation for an extremely long time.