Destruction of Ukraine dam caused ‘toxic timebomb’ of heavy metals, study finds. Researchers say environmental impact from Kakhovka dam explosion comparable to Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
The destruction of a large Ukrainian dam in 2023 triggered a “toxic timebomb” of environmental harm, a study has found. Lakebed sediments holding 83,000 tonnes of heavy metals were exposed when the Kakhovka dam was blown up one year into Russia’s invasion, researchers found.
Less than 1% of these “highly toxic” heavy metals – which include lead, cadmium and nickel – are likely to have been released when the reservoir drained, the scientists found. They said the remaining pollutants would leach into rivers as rains wore down the sediment, threatening human health in a region where river water is widely used to make up for shortages in municipal water supplies.
The lead author, Oleksandra Shumilova, said the scale of the environmental impacts was comparable to the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
