In the summer, work began on the Pripyat River to deepen the seabed within the framework of an international project to restore the 2000 km long E-40 navigable waterway, which will pass through Poland, Belarus and Ukraine.
As Glavred writes with reference to the Guardian, scientists and ecologists warn that the deepening of the river bottom on the Pripyat River in the exclusion zone can lead to the rise of radioactive silt to the surface, which will inevitably pollute drinking water for eight million Ukrainians.
In Ukraine, they insist that the waterway is important for the development of river transport and trade routes between neighboring countries, namely Belarus. The Ukrainian authorities have allocated about 12 million hryvnia for the work on deepening and cleaning the bottom.
However, international experts stress that the construction of this waterway will have a “radiological impact” on both the builders and the population. According to scientists, this could also lead to radiation exposure to people who live downstream of the site.