Breakthrough in nuclear cleanup: Swiss tech cuts Chernobyl radiation 47% without chemicals, stuns scientists

Nearly 40 years after the explosion that turned Chernobyl into a radioactive wasteland, a Swiss invention is delivering results scientists once thought impossible: a 47% drop in airborne radiation inside the Exclusion Zone — without chemicals, excavation, or disturbing the soil.

The breakthrough comes from the Nucleus Separation Passive System (NSPS), a cutting-edge technology developed by Swiss engineering firm Exlterra.

Partnering with Ukraine’s SSE Ecocentre, Exlterra deployed the NSPS on contaminated land in Chernobyl, aiming to neutralize radioactive isotopes that have lingered since the 1986 disaster. The results could redefine how the world approaches nuclear cleanup, from Chernobyl to Fukushima.

On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, blasting radioactive particles like cesium-137 and strontium-90 across Europe. More than 116,000 people were forced to evacuate a 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone, leaving behind a region scientists warned could remain hazardous for up to 24,000 years.

Despite the passing decades, dangerous radiation levels have persisted in the soil, air, and vegetation, turning any decontamination efforts into high-risk, long-term undertakings.

How NSPS works

Unlike traditional methods that dig up or chemically treat radioactive soil, the NSPS is non-invasive, chemical-free, and operates without electricity. Instead, it fires streams of high-speed positrons — the antimatter counterpart of electrons — into the ground through a network of underground rods.

These positrons disrupt the atomic structure of radioactive isotopes, such as cesium-137 and strontium-90, causing them to decay faster into harmless elements.

In 2023, Exlterra installed the NSPS over two hectares inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. After a year of monitoring, data revealed striking outcomes:

• Airborne radiation levels fell by 47%
• Soil radiation decreased by 37%
• No radioactive materials were moved or treated chemically
• The findings suggest that what would normally take centuries of natural radioactive decay could happen far more quickly — and without harming the ecosystem.

A new chapter for nuclear cleanup

Chernobyl has long symbolized the dangers and seemingly eternal consequences of nuclear disasters. But this technology offers a radical new possibility: restoring radioactive zones safely, passively, and without generating more hazardous waste.

Beyond Chernobyl, the implications are vast. The NSPS could help decontaminate:

• Fukushima, Japan, where the 2011 nuclear meltdown left vast areas polluted
• Former nuclear test sites in Kazakhstan, the US, and the South Pacific
• Industrial and medical sites affected by radiation spills

The system also promises to cut the immense costs and labor involved in traditional cleanup, pointing toward a faster, safer, and more sustainable path to recovery.