Chernobyl

From Wikitravel

Chernobyl nuclear power plant's reactor 4 encased in a sarcophagus. Currently, the sarcophagus is leaking radiation and plans to build a replacement are underway.

Chernobyl (Ukranian: Chornobyl) is located in Ukraine; the location is infamous because of the nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986.

[edit] Understand

On April 26, 1986, the No. 4 nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl 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 every European nation. Potassium iodide was distributed in the immediate areas surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Station, including the Pripyat 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, the town closest to the reactor, 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 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 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 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 a few thousand to at least a million.

[edit] Read

• Svetlana Alexievich's Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster offers personal insight into the lives of residents before and after meltdown. ISBN 0312425848.

[edit] Get in

Pripyat is located 110 kilometers from Kiev and about 16 kilometers from the border with Belarus.

To gain access to Pripyat, Chernobyl 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.

Most chartered tours take the form of a busride from Kiev. The travel agency Hamalia has a good reputation for ecological tours to Chernobyl. When you book a tour, better book in advance because there is an official registration and permission needed.

Internet project pripyat.com organizes tours to Chernobyl exclusion zone and Pripyat City for site readers and forum members. If you interested, former Pripyat 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.

[edit][add listing] See

Now a ghost town, Pripyat, in April of 1986 was home to 49,000. The ferris wheel in the background is a grimly ironic reminder of the normality of life before the reactor accident. The amusement park was scheduled to open only four days after the Chernobyl accident.

The view from one of Pripyat's tall accomodation blocks reveals that Chernobyl reactor number four is chillingly close to the town where its workers lived.

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 reactor 4: You'll not be able to get too close, but the nearest observation point will be about 100m from the reactor sarcophagus. 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. 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: If you're lucky you'll be able to see the scrap yard containing the irradiated emergency vehicles which tended the disaster. There are a number of fire tenders, ambulances, trucks and helicopters in the vehicle graveyard. You'll not 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. There is a viewing platform there for photographic purposes. Tours nowadays (April 2008) take you to a collection of abandoned ships on a lake by the city instead.

Pripyat: The famous abandoned city, which once housed 49,000 residents. Sights to see are the schools, kindergarden, 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.

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.

[edit][add listing] Buy

There is no commerce in Chernobyl, as all the stores are closed. Your tour will probably include food, but you're advised to bring your own snacks and drinks.

If you get access to the Chernobyl administration centre, you will be able to buy souvenirs, such as books detailing the disaster.

[edit][add listing] Eat

In Pripyat 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.

[edit][add listing] Drink

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.

[edit] Stay Safe

A lethal dose of radiation is in the range of 300 to 500 roentgens an hour. Levels on the tour reportedly range from 15 to several hundred microroentgens an hour. A microroentgen is one-millionth of a roentgen. Stay on roads, the radiation levels on areas covered by vegetation are signficantly higher. 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.

[edit] Some Specifics

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.

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).