Ukraine reuses decontaminated Chernobyl metal with clean steel

7 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Apr 25

In 2025, Ukraine began mixing mildly radioactive metal from Chernobyl, including material from the power plant, with uncontaminated steel for industrial reuse under new regulations.
This process dilutes residual radioactivity to safe levels, allowing previously hazardous scrap to be repurposed, and marks a significant shift in handling the legacy of the 1986 disaster’s contaminated equipment.
While much of the original vehicle graveyards at sites like Rassokha have been cleared, some irradiated vehicles remain in the exclusion zone, now largely inaccessible due to ongoing Russian military activity.

With cleanup funds diverted for war repairs, is Chernobyl's toxic legacy being postponed?

What secrets might be hidden in Chernobyl's newly discovered vehicle graveyard?

Is America risking another Chernobyl by abandoning physical containment for new reactors?

After the 2025 drone strike, how vulnerable are nuclear sites to modern warfare?

From nuclear fallout to war refugees: Can one town survive two historic disasters?

The Chernobyl dome was built to last 100 years. Is it already failing?