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Researchers found that the nuclear-fuel crystal structure in six radioactive particles from the 1986 Chernobyl accident remained largely intact about 40 years later. The result suggests these particles may retain radioactive fission products, but the small sample does not establish how particles across the region behave or change health risks.
Researchers have found that the nuclear-fuel crystal structure in six radioactive particles released during the 1986 Chernobyl accident remained largely intact around 40 years later, according to a study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. The finding suggests the particles may hold onto radioactive fission products longer than expected, but the small sample cannot establish how common this stability is or determine health risks across the region.
Teams from Leibniz University Hannover and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) examined six so-called hot particles collected from soil at two locations in Ukraine. The fragments measure between 8 and 50 micrometers and remain highly radioactive. Researchers used synchrotron X-ray diffraction to identify the crystal phases inside them, a structural analysis that had not previously been successfully carried out on particles of this kind, the report said.
The team isolated the fragments from soil, attached them to tungsten electrodes and enclosed them in several layers before sending them to the Rossendorf Beamline in Grenoble. Each particle was rotated through an X-ray beam and measured from 2,000 angles to capture its diffraction pattern. The results showed different uranium-oxide phases, while the fuel crystal structure in the examined particles had remained largely intact.
The study authors said this structural preservation indicates the particles are chemically more stable than previously assumed. They may consequently retain fission products rather than readily releasing them into nearby soil and water. That is a possible implication, not a direct measurement of environmental contamination or human exposure. The researchers also stressed that six particles from two locations are too few to represent the wider exclusion zone.
What Stable Fuel May Mean
The findings refine one part of the picture of radioactive material left by the accident: how fuel fragments change as they weather. If some particles preserve their structure and retain fission products, their release patterns may differ from estimates based on less stable forms. More detailed knowledge of particle composition and degradation could help researchers make more precise assessments of how radionuclides move through the environment.
But the study does not show that the area is safe, that exposure risks have fallen, or that restrictions can be relaxed. The authors cautioned that particles vary in structure and that persistent outliers could release radionuclides later. The result is therefore a finding about the six samples examined, not a general conclusion about all Chernobyl contamination.
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How Chernobyl Fuel Became Particles
The 1986 reactor accident scattered debris and radioactive dust beyond the destroyed unit. The source report describes three broad particle types: fragments that remain similar to uranium dioxide fuel; particles partly or fully enclosed in, or fused with, zirconium; and particles formed after the graphite moderator caught fire. The fire burned for 10 days, and the fuel oxidized into different uranium compounds.
Those forms can behave differently in the environment. The report notes that some uranium oxides can form mechanically unstable microscopic particles that are readily carried by wind, creating a potential inhalation hazard. Until this work, why particles weather at different rates remained poorly understood. The new analysis used diffraction to identify their internal crystal phases, rather than measuring regional exposure or the health effects of particular particles.
“The crystal structure of the nuclear fuel in the examined particles has remained largely intact to this day.”
— Tobias Weissenborn, physicist and doctoral candidate at Leibniz University Hannover
Limits of Six Particle Samples
The study examined only six particles from two locations, and the source report says each had a different structure. The sample therefore cannot establish how representative the measured stability is across the exclusion zone, how quickly different particles release radionuclides, or whether particular particle types pose greater exposure risks.
The reported result concerns crystal structure and inferred retention of fission products. It does not provide a new estimate of radiation dose, contamination levels in soil or water, or health outcomes. Researchers also warned that some unusually persistent particles could release radionuclides later. The findings do not support lifting access restrictions in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
More Samples and Follow-Up Tests
Weissenborn and Hennig are conducting follow-up experiments on transuranic phases in the accident remnants, according to the report. Wider conclusions about hot-particle stability would require researchers to collect and analyze many more particles from a broader range of locations.
The study, by Tobias Weissenborn and colleagues, was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials in 2026 under the title “X-ray diffraction phase analysis of single hot particles from Chornobyl” (DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2026.141533). The source material does not give a timetable for the follow-up work or describe when expanded sampling will be completed.
Key Questions
What did the researchers find?
In six radioactive Chernobyl particles, the nuclear-fuel crystal structure remained largely intact around 40 years after the 1986 accident. The researchers said this suggests the sampled particles are chemically more stable than previously assumed.
Does this mean Chernobyl is safer now?
No. The study did not measure regional radiation exposure or health outcomes. Its authors said the small sample cannot support universal conclusions about health risks, and it does not justify lifting restrictions in the exclusion zone.
How many particles were analyzed?
The team analyzed six particles collected from two locations. Researchers said many more samples from additional locations would be needed to draw broader conclusions about particle stability.
How did the team examine the particles?
Researchers used synchrotron X-ray diffraction to study internal crystal structures. They rotated each particle in an X-ray beam and recorded measurements from 2,000 angles.
What research is planned next?
The researchers are conducting follow-up experiments on transuranic phases in the accident remnants. The report does not specify when that work will be published or when broader particle sampling may take place.
Source: hn
