Trip to Chernobyl/Pripyat (LOTS of pics 56k go home)

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NOTE: VERY IMAGE INTENSIVE. Go grab a cup of coffee and a snack while this thread loads.

I thought you might be interested in a recent trip I took.

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Unit 4 reactor exploded creating the worst nuclear disaster to date. It took 800,000 "liquidators" to clean up the area and 9 months for the concrete sarcophagus surrounding the reactor to be built. Today the Ukrainian government maintains a 30km Zone of Alienation around the site and you can't legally enter The Zone without permits.


I signed up for a custom two day tour which involved a group tour on Day One, overnight at the "Hotel for Foreign Specialists" inside the 10km Chernobyl Zone, and a private tour on Day Two. The "hotel" was pretty decent for being a hastily erected pole building. That night I could hear wolves howling in the not too far distance.


30km Zone of Alienation checkpoint. Also known as Checkpoint Dytyatky.

 

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"Papers please"




Frisker at the "visitor's center" in Chernobyl.




It is almost 25 years after the accident and the vast majority of the contamination is locked away either in the ground or in the plants. Right now the biggest threat to the area is a forest fire which would release and spread the contamination. In an effort to help control the grasses and grains growing in the long abandoned farms, Ukraine re-introduced Przewalski's Horses to the area. The Przewalski's Horse is considered the only remaining truly wild "horse" in the world. Our driver spotted one in a field inside the 30km Zone and under the supervision of our guide I got out and stalked it. I remember him telling me "I think this is close enough. They are not friendly." Truth be told I was more worried about
getting contaminated from the dry, dusty soil than an untameable horse.

 

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Inside the 10km Chernobyl Zone.

After the accident, Chernobyl was evacuated but today a few people have moved back into their homes and there are also about 600 workers associated with the site that live there (power plant employees, guards, scientists, support staff, etc.) on a temporary basis. That being said, there are lots of abandoned houses in the town.








Interesting factoid: Chernobyl is home to one of the last remaining statues of Lenin still standing in Ukraine.

 

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This memorial was paid for and put up by firefighters in remembrance of the first responders, almost all of which died from acute radiation poisoning.








Is this a vehicle graveyard or a memorial? These vehicles were used by the liquidators during the cleanup. Some of the vehicles have already been sold off as scrap.

 

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On the way to the power stations, you will occasionally see a mound of dirt with a radiation sign on top. These signs mark houses that were torn down and then buried.





Chernobyl-2, an over the horizon radar array to detect incoming U.S. missiles, is a relic of the Cold War. It used to be accessible to tourists but it is now off-limits to the public. This is a crop of a zoom.





Chernobyl Unit 5. The unit was under construction when unit 4 exploded. As you can see, all the heavy construction equipment remains.




Meter reading of the area. 0.067 microSievert* per hour. Not bad.




*A Sievert is a unit of measurement that attempts to reflect the biological effects of radiation. The average person receives 2400 microSievert of radiation from natural background sources. One Sievert is equal to 100 rem (yes, that is only true for Q=1 but it's just easier to assume that Q=1 since in reality it is probably close to 1 anyway).

 

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Unfinished cooling towers for Unit 5.



Have you ever seen the inside of a cooling tower?


Walking to the cooling towers.




Inside the larger cooling tower.

 

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The infamous Unit 4 and its sarcophagus.

 

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20th anniversary memorial.







Even though we were told that photography of the sarcophagus was allowed, this guard didn't get the message and here he is arguing with the tour guide.




Drive-by of Unit 4.

 

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Shortly after the accident, a cloud of fallout landed in the nearby forest. The needles on the pine trees turned red and the trees died. This area became known as the Red Forest. We weren't allowed to get out of the vehicle when we drove through but we did stop for a moment to see how high the radiation levels were. 39.76 microSievert per hour. That is 593 times higher than at the point I took the Unit 5 photos!





The town of Pripyat was built in 1970 as a home for the workers at the power plants.




Meter reading at the sign was 2.32 microSievert per hour.




Road to Pripyat.

 

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In 1986 Pripyat had a population of 52,000. The whole town was evacuated after the accident and served as a base of operations for the liquidators during the cleanup efforts. These temporary residents are the reason why you see broken windows, empty bottles of wine in odd places, and general debris strewn about.

View of the city from the top of an apartment building.






The center of operations for the liquidators. During the cleanup, about 800,000 liquidators went though here.

 

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Cultural Center.





The pharmacy/Apotheke/chemist.

 

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The hospital.

 

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The police station.

 

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The Fire Department

 

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The supermarket.




The school of music and art.

 

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Piano in the school of music and art.

 

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The primary school.

 

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The recreation center/pool.

 

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The amusement park.

 

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A vehicle graveyard.