Elephant's Foot (Chernobyl)

The Elephant's Foot is the nickname given to a large mass of corium, composed of materials formed from molten concrete, sand, steel, uranium and zirconium. The mass formed beneath Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near Pripyat, Ukraine, during the Chernobyl disaster of April 26 1986, and is notable for its extreme radioactivity. It is named for its wrinkly appearance and large size, evocative of the foot of an elephant.

Discovered in December 1986, the 'foot' is located in a maintenance corridor below the remains of Reactor No. 4, though the often-photographed section is only a small portion of several larger corium masses. It has a popular reputation as one the most radioactive objects in history, though the danger has decreased over time due to the decay of its radioactive components.^[1]^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference Higginbotham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Higginbotham-1] Cite error: The named reference Higginbotham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Report-2] Cite error: The named reference Report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]