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Researchers analyzed six radioactive particles from Chernobyl and found that the nuclear fuel crystal structure inside them has remained largely intact. The result suggests some particles may retain radioactive fission products, but the small sample cannot establish how common this stability is or determine health risks across the region.
Researchers from Leibniz University Hannover and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf found that the nuclear-fuel crystal structures in six radioactive particles from the 1986 Chernobyl accident remain largely intact, challenging expectations that the material would be less stable after four decades. The findings, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, suggest the particles may retain radioactive fission products, but the small sample does not establish how representative they are or change assessments of health risks across the exclusion zone.
The fragments, known as hot particles, were collected from soil at two locations in Ukraine. They measure roughly 8 to 50 micrometers and remain radioactive decades after the reactor was destroyed. The research team used synchrotron X-ray diffraction to identify the crystalline phases inside each fragment, marking the first structural investigation of this kind on such highly radioactive particles, according to the report.
Researchers isolated the particles from soil, attached them to tungsten electrodes and secured them with multiple layers of containment before sending them to the Rossendorf Beamline in Grenoble. The team rotated each particle through an X-ray beam and recorded measurements from about 2,000 angles to map its internal structure. The analysis detected different uranium oxide phases and found that the fuel crystal structure in the examined fragments was largely preserved.
That finding is relevant because the structure and composition of a particle can affect how it weathers and releases radioactive substances. The researchers said the examined particles appeared to retain fission products within their material. The study does not, however, measure the exposure of people or establish the release rate for particles throughout the contaminated area. Its direct evidence is limited to six particles from two sites.
What Stable Fuel Could Mean
The structure of radioactive debris can help determine how readily its contents move into surrounding soil and water. If some particles hold onto fission products for longer than expected, that could inform estimates of how contamination changes over time. The researchers described this as potentially good news for the surrounding environment, while stressing that the result is not a regional safety assessment.
The opposite implication also matters: particles may differ in how they age, and some could release radionuclides later than others. A finding of relative stability in a handful of samples cannot show that all Chernobyl debris behaves the same way. Nor does it show that the radioactive particles are harmless. The work instead provides a method and initial structural evidence that may help researchers refine models of particle weathering and radionuclide release.
The results do not support lifting access controls. Researcher Tobias Weissenborn cautioned that even average patterns would not capture unusual, more persistent particles. The study’s value is therefore in improving scientific understanding, not in changing current restrictions or declaring the affected region safe.
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How Chernobyl Particles Formed
The 1986 reactor accident scattered debris and radioactive dust beyond the destroyed unit. The report describes three broad particle types: fragments still similar to uranium dioxide fuel; fuel partly or fully encased in, or fused with, zirconium; and particles formed as the reactor’s graphite moderator burned. The fire lasted 10 days, and the heat and oxidation produced uranium oxides, including U₃O₈.
Some uranium oxide compounds can form mechanically unstable microscopic particles that wind may carry. The different ways particles formed may help explain why their environmental weathering varies. Until this study, researchers had limited structural information about the highly radioactive fragments, in part because examining them requires specialized diffraction experiments and careful containment.
The paper, by Tobias Weissenborn and colleagues, is titled “X-ray diffraction phase analysis of single hot particles from Chornobyl” and appeared in the Journal of Hazardous Materials in 2026. The report identifies the work as a collaboration between researchers at Leibniz University Hannover and HZDR.
“Every single particle has a different structure.”
— Tobias Weissenborn, physicist and doctoral candidate at Leibniz University Hannover
What Six Samples Cannot Show
The study does not establish how representative the six particles are of debris across Chernobyl. They came from two locations, and the researchers said broader conclusions require samples from many more sites and analysis of many more particles. The material supplied does not give a region-wide estimate of particle stability or a quantified rate at which the studied fragments release radionuclides.
It also remains unclear how the observed crystal structures translate into exposure or health outcomes for people. The researchers warned that even if particles follow a broadly similar pattern, individual outliers may persist and release radioactive substances later. The study therefore cannot support universal conclusions about health risks or the safety of specific areas.
More Particles and Follow-Up Tests
Weissenborn and Hennig are conducting follow-up experiments on transuranic phases in the reactor remnants, according to the report. Further work on particles from additional locations and in larger numbers would be needed to establish how widespread the observed structural stability is and to better characterize variation in radioactive release.
For now, the findings add a new analytical method and evidence from a small set of samples; they do not alter access restrictions. The timing and scope of future sampling, and whether follow-up studies will produce a broader estimate of particle behavior, have not been specified.
Key Questions
What did the researchers find in the Chernobyl particles?
X-ray diffraction found that the nuclear-fuel crystal structures in six examined particles remained largely intact decades after the 1986 accident. The team also detected different uranium oxide phases.
Does the study show that Chernobyl is safe?
No. The study examined only six particles from two locations and did not assess human exposure or establish health risks across the region. Researchers said the results do not justify lifting restrictions.
Why does the particles’ stability matter?
A particle’s structure may affect how it weathers and releases radioactive substances. The researchers said the particles they examined appeared to retain fission products, but the study did not determine release rates for the wider area.
How were the particles analyzed?
The team used synchrotron X-ray diffraction at the Rossendorf Beamline in Grenoble. Each particle was rotated through an X-ray beam, with measurements taken from about 2,000 angles to reveal its internal structure.
What research is planned next?
Researchers Tobias Weissenborn and Christoph Hennig are conducting follow-up experiments on transuranic phases in the reactor remnants. The report does not specify when those results will be published.
Source: hn
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