Translated material
Fly away, cloud, fly away
Phosphorus cloud leaves Ukraine
Yesterday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said that the fire at the accident site in the Lviv region had been extinguished, and its perpetrators “will be punished.” On Monday, 15 tank cars carrying yellow phosphorus derailed while traveling from Kazakhstan to Poland. Half of the tanks exploded, and a cloud from a phosphorus fire covered a 90-kilometer zone around the accident. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine yesterday suggested that the phosphorus cloud had already left the borders of the Lviv region.The list of victims of the accident is growing: 14 rescuers and 18 citizens were hospitalized, six firefighters are in intensive care. The prosecutor's office of the Lviv region, in addition to purely technical versions of the disaster, is also considering “intervention by third parties.” The regional prosecutor said that the owner of the dangerous cargo could not be identified.
Representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Emergency Situations Grigory Marchenko said yesterday that forced evacuation of residents of the 90-kilometer zone is not carried out, since measurements indicate the absence of infection. The main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Lviv region did not even supply drinking water to a number of affected areas. However, the Ministry of Environmental Protection yesterday announced that the concentration of toxic substances in two villages at the epicenter of the accident was 20 times higher.
The fact that the situation is not so safe is also evidenced by the fact that the prosecutor’s office did not allow access to the accident site due to a “threat to life and health.” Environmentalists in the Lviv region demand that the authorities urgently evacuate people in a 90-kilometer zone in the area of the explosion. Doctors advise local residents not to use well water or even leave their homes.