The sky is burning over Ukraine

Subscribe
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Tatyana Sinitsyna) - A toxic cloud of burning phosphorus gas released by a derailed train near Lviv (western Ukraine) is headed towards Belarus.

Moving at a height of two or three kilometers from the ground, it does not pose any threat to aircraft traveling at much higher altitudes. In the meantime, the gas is being broken down by oxygen in the atmosphere, so hopefully we will soon be able to sigh with relief as if we have just seen a short horror movie.

In any event, this disaster deserves an entry in the Guinness Book of Records because nobody has ever seen a burning cloud of phosphorus moving in the sky.

The freight train, en route from Kazakhstan to Poland, passed through Russia without any problems. It derailed near Lviv, overturning six of its 50-ton cars loaded with phosphorus. Nobody knows for sure what caused the disaster. It could be a failure to observe safety rules or fix technical flaws in the train or the rails. Or, it might have been human error - a mistake by the engineer or traffic controller for the Lviv railway. The investigators will find out why it happened.

Luckily, the fires caused by the gas mixing with air were quickly extinguished. However, the conflagration heated the surrounding air, causing it to rise and lift some of the substance high above the ground. "This is a unique disaster. I don't remember anything like this," said Professor Lev Fyodorov, president of the Russian Union for Chemical Safety. "Usually, we deal with grams of phosphorus, and here the amount was enormous." He said there are two major dangers - we do not know the speed at which the cloud is traveling, nor how many tons have been released into the atmosphere. "We should pray that there is enough oxygen in the skies to burn it," Fyodorov said.

The drama is not yet over, and this fantastic flying fire may still land on someone's head. No doubt, Belarusians are awaiting it with memories of Chernobyl still fresh in their minds.

Professor Fyodorov thinks there are no grounds for panic. "On contact with oxygen, yellow phosphorus ignites. The blaze turns it into harmless phosphorus oxide."

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала