72 Your Dog November 2017 http://www.yourdog.co.ukABOUT THE
CHERNOBYL DISASTER
In the early hours of April 26, 1986,
reactor four at the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant exploded during a safety
test, spewing more than 400 times the
amount of radiation produced by the
bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The disaster killed two people and
hospitalised 134 more, including
fi refi ghters and employees who
went back into the plant to help.
Twenty eight later died as a result of
acute radiation.
A concrete sarcophagus was erected
over the reactor to contain the worst of
the radiation, and the Exclusion Zone
was put in place. A new city, Slavutych,
was built 45 kilometres (28 miles)
away to house the thousands of
Pripyat evacuees.
The abandoned town of Pripyat is
now something of a tourist attraction,
with sanctioned tours offered under
strict observation and guidance from
licensed tour operators.
A New Safe Confi nement structure
is being erected to contain the
now unstable sarcophagus and the
surrounding area. This work is expected
to be completed in late 2017.
It’s estimated that the Exclusion Zone
will be contaminated by radiation for
thousands of years to come.due to lack of food and shelter in the
extremely cold winters.”
Lucas adds: “These animals are very
deprived and aren’t receiving any
treatment, especially for mange. We’ve
seen a few litters where the puppies are
hairless; it’s so sad. The locals are rather
limited in what they can do, as there is
a lot of poverty in Ukraine, but they do
what they can. Our mission is to support
them and these animals.”
CFF also plans to microchip the dogs,
so they can be monitored in the
future, and has put together
an international veterinary
team to carry out medical DID YOU KNOW?
According to CFF,
over 90 per cent of
Chernobyl’s dogs are
aged three to fi ve years
or younger, with very
few living beyond
eight years.treatments in the coming months. FOUR
PAWS has sent a vet to join the Chernobyl
team, and has provided medicines and
equipment to help the project.FUTURE PLANS
But how is the team being protected
from radiation in the atmosphere? Many
workers can only stay in the Exclusion
Zone for up to 15 days at a time, and
visitors and tourists to the area are only
allowed in for a certain amount of time.
Before the start of the project, extensive
research was carried out to minimise the
health risks from the environment.
Lucas explains: “We are following strict
health and safety protocols to ensure the
safety of our team. As part of this, it is
mandatory to wear appropriate clothing
to ensure the team is protected from the
radiation levels.”
On top of this, the stray dogs will be
thoroughly washed and scrubbed before
every medical treatment to reduce the risk
of contamination.
“There is also no risk presented by
surgery and open wounds.
The radioactive contamination
of the dogs is very low, so itposes no risk to humans,” adds Lucas.
In June 2018, CFF will send another
team to Ukraine for four weeks, focusing
on caring for the dogs in the power
plant, the Exclusion Zone, and the city of
Slavutych, which was purposely built for
Pripyat evacuees after the 1986 disaster.
“It’s so important to improve the quality
of life for these animals,” says Lucas. “With
the microchips, we can follow the dogs’
progress and how they are faring when we
return next year.”● If you’d like to make a contribution
to the ongoing project to help
the stray dogs in Chernobyl, visit
http://www.dogsofchernobyl.comA view of the power
plant over Pripyat.Many people living and working
within the Exclusion Zone have
become attached to the dogs.70-72 Chernobyl Dogs(SW) CC.indd 72 22/09/2017 12:42