Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
In 2011 I had the chance to spend an extended amount of time within the Ukrainian portion of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. During my time there, I explored the abandoned buildings within the city of Pripyat, the unfinished sections of a second power plant, and climbed the 180m tall Duga-3 radar array. It was an experience I'll never forget. This week I'll spend some time talking about the events and my trip there.
On April 26th, 1986, reactor No. 4 suffered a catastrophic failure during a safety test that would go down in history as the worst nuclear disaster. It took Soviet officials 36hrs after the initial explosion to finally issue orders to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat that had a population of ~49,000 people. Initially, they were told they would only be gone for a short time, and they wouldn't need to bring anything with them.
Here is an excerpt that was broadcasted during the evacuation announcement.
"Comrades, leaving your residences temporarily, please make sure you have turned off the lights, electrical equipment, and water and shut the windows. Please keep calm and orderly in the process of this short-term evacuation."
As we know, now this wasn't a temporary evacuation.
Image 4: Azure Swimming Pool / Pripyat, Ukraine
The Azure Swimming Pool is the most famous abandoned pool in the world. It has been featured in numerous videogames like Call of Duty, PUBG, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. It was also featured in the music video for Pink Floyd's "Marooned."
Most people think that the Exclusion Zone was fully devoid of human inhabitants after the disaster. But, thousands were tasked with cleaning up the contamination from the Chernobyl Disaster that lived within the zone until the late 90s. These workers were called Liquidators and worked multi-week shifts within the zone. They would take a dip in the Azure Swimming Pool during their downtime, only 2.5mi (4km) from Reactor 4. The pool eventually closed in 1998.
In 2011, the average hourly dose of radiation from being on the ground in Chernobyl was 6 mSv, 300x more radiation exposure than a chest x-ray. The maximum yearly dose permitted for U.S. radiation workers is 50 mSv. I spent four days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wearing nothing but jeans and a t-shirt. I was more concerned about what was on the shower floor in the barracks.
Image 5: Круговой обзор (Circular Overview) / Pripyat Amusment Park
The Pripyat Amusement Park was scheduled to open on May 1st, 1986. That grand opening celebration on May Day never came due to the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster that occurred 2.25mi (3.6km) away from it on April 26th, 1986.
Some of the rides were still under construction when the disaster struck, like the Paratrooper ride, while others were ready for Pripyat's inhabitants like the Bumper Cars.
After the incident, the Pripyat Amusement Park grounds were used as a landing strip for the helicopters that shuttled radioactive materials from the Chernobyl Power Plant. The Liquidators later sprayed down the park, and most traces of the radioactive contamination were washed away from the paved surfaces. But there are still pockets with very high levels of radiation in areas covered in moss...
