Coming here in person, you realize this is an ongoing disaster. The Radiation in the air, and the soil is ever present. Like a monster that you can't see, but you know it's there. It makes the hairs on the back of your head stand up.
As we approached the gates, we were watching a documentary on the history of the disaster, and the scenes on the TV mimicked what was going by outside our window. We were actually driving toward the Zone of Exclusion. It was an ominous feeling.
We reached the gates, where a guard checked our passports, against the pre-approved list. You have to get permission to visit. We were pre-cleared, so there were no problems, and the gate lifted and we entered the Zone.
We came first to the administrative town, which was built after, to sign our waivers and get a briefing on what to expect.
As we drove forward, abandoned buildings began to appear. There were many villages in the Zone that were evacuated, besides the city of Pripyat. Some were bulldozed after, most were left. The forest has started to reclaim them.
We got our first look at our dosimeter, which measures the level of radioactivity in the air.
Dosimeter. This picture was taken on the road about 2 km from the damaged reactor. The reading is .120.
Normal background radiation is 0.015 or less. Kiev is 0.020, which indicates that 20 years after the blast, it is still more radioactive than normal. The administrative center at Chernobyl is 0.030. We left the center, and slowly, in the distance, the first reactors came into view.
We stopped here, to see first the unfinished No. 5 and 6 reactors, with their construction cranes still hanging in the air. They want to dismantle them, but everything has been sitting for 20 years, and they are afraid they will collapse. So it just sits there.
Unfinished Reactor No. 5, with derelict construction cranes.
The massive cooling pond is highly contaminated. It sits about 40 feet from the road, which is safe. They dug down 1 meter here, and removed all the soil, before repaving the road. The readings here were over .100. Our guide walked 10 feet over the guard rail, put the detector close to the ground, we heard it start to buzz. He turned around and said "off the scale". Then calmly walked back to the road and handed me the detector. Cory and I exchanged horrified looks.
The cooling pond and grass is all highly contaminated
We asked at this point, what amounts of radiation were we absorbing on this trip. The limit for our guides is 2 million parts per year. When we were standing looking at the Sarcophagus, the reading was .500-.600, 500 parts per hour. Our guide had been (for not long) to an area that was 800,000 parts per hour. We felt a bit better after hearing this, and seeing the many technicians walking around us. There are over 4000 people working in the area all the time. They all wear personal dosimeters.
Next up was the damaged reactor itself. The Sarcophagus was built to last 30 years, and we are 23 years into that now. It is in dire need of repair and replacement. There is great concern it may collapse.
Damaged Reactor No 4. and Sarcophagus.
Reactor No. 4. and Dosimeter. Readings here were .500 to .700
There are plans for a "New Safe Confinement", that was originally to be completed by 2005. It has been pushed back to 2012 at least.
What most people don't realize is that after the first explosion, there was an immediate threat of another, much larger explosion. This 2nd explosion, if it happened, would have rendered Europe un-inhabitable. It was only because of the original firefighters bravery (they all died), that stopped it.
Memorial in Chernobyl to the firefighters. The plaque reads "They saved the world".
Next up... The Ghost town of Pripyat...
Wow, kinda makes you stop and think, while we sip our Starbuck Lattes, doesn't it. Keep safe and keep up the great work reporting on your trip. Those of us that can only dream of such an epic trip, are living it through your updates.
ReplyDeleteAlan V.