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EXPLORE
Chernobyl [M] (Ukranian: Chornobyl) is located in Central Ukraine; the location is infamous because of the nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986.
On April 26, 1986, the No. 4 nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl [M] Nuclear Station exploded during a test to see how much power was needed to keep the reactor operating during a blackout. Iodine and other dangerous radioactive elements released from the explosion rose into the air and spread across millions of square miles, polluting many European nations. Potassium iodide was distributed in the immediate areas surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Station, including the Pripyat [S] region where most of the workers lived. Controlled by the weather conditions at the time, the radioactive plume touched down again and again in numerous populated areas as far out as 500 km (over 300 miles).
Pripyat [S], the town closest to the reactor (3 kilometers distance), was home to 49,000 residents before the disaster, mostly the families of the plant workers; now no one lives there. The city of Chernobyl [M] is only 4 kilometers to the south of the reactor. High radiation levels forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from the region surrounding Chernobyl, but today about 700 residents have returned to live in the region (although not the town itself).
Pripyat [S] is a freeze-frame of 1980s Soviet life. Propaganda slogans still hang on walls, and children's toys and other items remain as they were. But buildings are rotting, paint is peeling and looters have taken away anything that might have been of value. Trees and grass are eerily reclaiming the land. Today, the Chernobyl [M] Exclusion Zone is a tourist destination. In 2002, it opened for tourism, and in 2004 there were 870 visitors.
Twenty years after the accident, debate still rages about the number of directly related deaths. Fearing bad PR, the U.S.S.R. for several years forbade medical examiners from listing radiation as a cause of death. Estimates of deaths related to the accident range from 56 to a few thousand.
Pripyat [S] is located 110 kilometers from Kiev [M] and about 16 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
To gain access to Pripyat [S], Chernobyl [M] or any of the surrounding villages, you will need to enter the 30km exclusion zone - and to do that, you will need to arrange a day pass. The easiest way of obtaining one of these is through a tour operator, of which there are many based in Kiev [M].
Most chartered tours take the form of a bus ride from Kiev [M]. Travel agencies:
If you are interested, former Pripyat [S] residents could accompany you in the City and tell you their stories and memories about days of accident. They do very interesting, informative tours, everything is officially legalized.
Visitors to the exclusion zone normally come as part of a tour group. One-day packages which include transportation and food cost around $150-$200, or up to $300 if there's only one of you.
Things to see:
Chernobyl [M] reactor 4: You'll not be able to get too close, but the nearest observation point is 200m from the reactor sarcophagus. The only way to get into the reactor is if you are a scientist or a film maker that has had months of preparation in advance. Although radiation levels here will be much higher than elsewhere in the region, you will not be able to pick up a significant dose during your stay. Typical dose at the site seems to be about 0.5 - 0.9 mR/h (milliroentgens per hour) (winter), slightly higher in the summer. However, measurements done from the observation point in October 2008 only showed a value of 14 microroentgens per hour (0.014 mR/h). There is a visitor's centre with a very interesting model of the damaged reactor, where the plans for improving the sarcophagus over the facility will be explained to you.
Vehicle scrap yard: Important - Passage to "Rossokha" village, cemetery of military machineries - ACCESS FORBIDDEN BY THE GOVERNMENT STARTING APRIL 2008! The scrap yard contains the irradiated emergency vehicles which tended the disaster. There are a number of fire tenders, ambulances, trucks and helicopters in the vehicle graveyard, although some of the vehicles are now being sold as scrap metal. You will no longer be able to gain entry there, but as some of the vehicles are still carrying lethal doses of radiation, this isn't a bad thing. Tours nowadays (April 2008) take you to a collection of abandoned ships on a lake by the city instead.
Pripyat [S]: The famous abandoned city, which once housed 49,000 residents. Sights to see are the schools, kindergarten, public buildings and the amazing culture palace which contains a swimming pool, cinema and gymnasium, and overlooks the famous ferris wheel. Hazards are the crumbling buildings, and decaying wooden floors in places - so be careful. As of July 2008, most tours will not let you enter the buildings due to their current structural stability.
The villages: There is a great number of abandoned villages in the exclusion zone, and all are extremely interesting to view - you'll see farmhouses, small cottages and plenty of vegetation. Be careful entering any of these areas, as vegetation always carries far higher levels of residual radioactivity than concreted areas. Guides will always tell you not to step on the moss, and the dust in dried-out puddles tends to concentrate radioactivity.
Your tour will probably include food, but you're advised to bring your own snacks and drinks. However, some tours let you visit the only shop in Chernobyl [M] where you can buy a beer for your meal. By the end of the tour, you just might need it.
If you get access to the Chernobyl [M] administration centre, you will be able to buy souvenirs, such as books detailing the disaster.
In Chernobyl [M] town there is a canteen for the maintenance crews that work in the exclusion zone. If you are on a guided tour you can eat there. All day visitors to Chernobyl will likely dine at restaurants in the surrounding area.
If you bring meals and drinks with you, make sure to keep them well sealed, and avoid opening/consuming any food or drinks within the 10 km area around the power plant. Clean your hands thoroughly before touching any food.
Tap water in the area remains unsafe for drinking or washing because of the radiation that leaked into surrounding dams, lakes and rivers, so stick to bottled water - which in Ukraine is predominantly sparkling.
The levels of radiation on guided tours are relatively small; radiation levels in most places are less than that in an aircraft flying at 30,000 feet. The main danger is not in the radiation itself, but in particles of radioactive materials that may remain on your clothes or items.
A lethal dose of radiation is in the range of 300 to 500 roentgens when administered within an hour. Levels on the tour reportedly range from 15 to several hundred microroentgens an hour. A microroentgen is one-millionth of a roentgen.
Example: On a six-hour trip arranged in October 2008 the total dose was 4 microsieverts according to the meter (400 microroentgens). This was less than the total dose of the connecting two-hour flight, which was 6 microsieverts (600 microroentgens). Radiation levels by the power plant were 1.7 microsieverts per hour (170 microroentgens per hour) and they varied between 0.4 and 9.5 microsieverts per hour (40-950 microroentgens per hour) in the Pripyat [S]
Stay on roads, the radiation levels on areas covered by vegetation are significantly higher. Even more important, the risk for contamination when walking amongst vegetation is higher because it is more difficult to avoid touching or inhaling anything. Radiation ends when you leave the place, but you don't want radioactive elements inside your body. Follow common sense if you are on your own; if you see an area marked with a radiation sign, the meaning is clear: DON'T GO THERE.
The International Council on Radiation Protection has a recommended annual limit of 5 rem (uniform irradiation of the whole body) for nuclear plant workers.
Clinical effects are seen at 75-200 rem when administered in a short time scale.
Since the levels are microroentgen (10^-6) the exposure level is very low. But it is still possible to be in contact with some very hot surfaces, so caution should be stressed. Note: One rem is equal to 1.07 R (roentgen), or 0.01 sieverts.
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www.flexijourney.com by Philip Ze ^ 2008-2010
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