Future Travels – Chernobyl
The Chernobyl explosion is the worst nuclear accident the world has ever seen. When reactor No.4 exploded on 26 April 1986, the equivalent of 500 Hiroshima bombs worth of radiation was released (page. xii). The result was a environmental and human catastrophe.
Over 5% of Ukraine (38, 000 Sq km), 23% of Belarus (44,000 sq km) and 1.5% of Russia (60,000 sq km) was contaminated (p. 339). The exact human cost is difficult to estimate, but the UN estimates that 50 deaths can be directly attributed, with a further 4,000 resulting from radiation exposure (p. 340); others have estimated much higher.
Close to 600,000 people – known as ‘the liquidators’ or ‘biorobots’ – were mobilised in the aftermath to help ‘liquidate’ the consequences of the disaster, removing radioactive debris and other decontamination efforts (p. 218). A 30 km exclusion zone was put in place, encompassing the the City of Prypiat and the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, itself surrounded by a smaller 10km zone (p. xi-xii).
Today visitors can tour the exclusion zone through an organised tour, seeing the ghost town of Prypiat, the area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the Duga Radar and secret military base, and Chernobyl town. My visit to Chernobyl was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, but here is what I would have seen…
- City of Prypiat
- Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
- The Duga Radar + Military Base
- Chernobyl Town
- Tours + Safety
- Learn more about the Chernobyl Disaster
City of Prypiat
The city of Prypiat is 3.5 km north of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. A fast growing new city, attracting young workers and holding special status, it was a relatively good place to live in Soviet times (p. 35-37). But on the afternoon of Sunday 27 April, around 36 hours after the explosion and with rapidly rising levels of radioactivity, the residents of Prypiat were evacuated. The announcement was made at 1:00pm (hear it here), and by 4:30pm the evacuation was all but complete (p. 149 – 154).
What remains is the ghost town Prypiat – a time capsule of a 1986 Soviet city. The main square can be found at the intersection of Lenin Boulevard. There are relics of the schools, supermarkets, swimming pool, fire station, and the amusement park which never opened. A tour will take you around these sights.
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
In 2017, work was completed on the New Safe Confinement (‘the Arch’). Built to last a 100 years, it covers the old sarcophagus which originally encased reactor No.4 (p.342). When you visit Chernobyl, you can view the Arch and wider plant from the visitors site (at 250m distance), and pass by the cooling towers and unfinished reactor of Unit 5. Over spring and summer, you can also feed the giant catfish which swim in the plants cooling channel (yes really!)
The Duga Radar + Military Base
Three miles from the plant, you can visit the old secret military base and the Duga Radar – an ‘over-the-horizon’ (OTH) radar system which was used as part of the Soviet’s early warning missile defence system. Hidden the forests of the exclusion zone, it stands a staggering 150 meters and almost 700 meters in length. Near here you can also visit an old Chernobyl sign.
Chernobyl Town
Chernobyl town is more busy, with thousands of workers who work there in shifts to keep the site safe and also support the new solar panel site. The town is one of few places left in the Ukraine where you can see a statue of Lenin, as most we’re destroyed. It also has the memorial “to those who saved the world”, dedicated to the to the firefighters that died putting out the fire at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, as well as the Chernobyl liquidators.
Tours + Safety
You can only visit Chernobyl exclusion zone via an organised tour. There are a number of operators offering 1 or 2 day group or private tours, and you can even do a tour within the plant itself! When looking at the options it was important to me that the tour would be respectful of what happened there – the Gamma Travel 1-day tour seems to fit that bill. I should add that they were very accommodating when my trip was cancelled due to Covid-19, providing a full refund with no fuss.
In terms of safety, your exposure for a day visit is less that what you would be exposed to on a long-haul flight. There are of course pockets are high radiation, but tours will not take you there or limit time there (unless of course, you chose to take a tour within the Nuclear Power Plant itself, which has additional safety needs). It is forbidden to enter buildings in Prypiat, as years of decay have made them unsafe. Radioactive dust can land on your clothes and items – you should not touch or pick up items. It is mandated to wear long clothing which covers your skin to limit contact, and its recommended that you wash clothing after your visit.
Learn more about the Chernobyl Disaster
I cannot recommend enough Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy, which provides a compelling account of the disaster. I would also recommend the fantastic TV series Chernobyl.
Acknowledgments: The facts of the Chernobyl incident and subsequent impacts are drawn from ‘Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy’ by Serhii Plokhy (bracketed numbers in this post indicated page number). Featured photo is public domain from Wikimedia Commons.
