What Happened to Chernobyl, Unfit to Live in for 20,000 Years (Spoiler: Some People Returned)

It has been more than 33 years since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, but its history remains in our memories. Thanks to the HBO series, which has become the highest rated in history, people around the world are showing an unprecedented interest in the subject. Before, few people tried to find out what happened in the Exclusion Zone all these years. But today, many tourists visit it.

At the awesome.club we enter the Red Forest to see what happens in Chernobyl three decades after the tragedy. It seems that nature, once snatched by man, has regained its ownership and the empty city of Pripyat has become an ideal canvas for street art.

It’s hard to believe, but there are people who dare to live in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, even though it’s forbidden by law. In 1986, the authorities evacuated 188 settlements with 116,000 inhabitants. Currently, the population of this restricted area is a few hundred people.

Most of the inhabitants of the local villages are elderly people who, after the catastrophe, refused to leave their homes. But there are also young people and even children among the residents🇧🇷 Living there is very cheap and this tranquility in the arms of mother nature, perhaps, cannot be found anywhere else.

Radiation does not scare the inhabitants of Chernobyl, as scientists assure that there is no danger in the air, although the soil and water in some places are still contaminated🇧🇷 As a result, the level of radioactive cesium 137 in the milk of local cows exceeds five times the established normal limit.

The villagers dare to collect mushrooms in the forbidden forest. Scientists are still investigating the size of the danger, but it is already known that in the vicinity of the reactor of the nuclear power plant, special fungi appeared that literally feed on radiation🇧🇷

Locals also engage in fishing, despite the bans. However, it is known that deep-sea fish in this area, especially in certain rivers, receive a higher dose of radiation🇧🇷 Above all, a high amount of radioactive strontium-90 is observed in their spines and scales.

After the Chernobyl accident, most of the radioactive dust settled on the branches of the nearby forest. More than 200 square kilometers were exposed to the most powerful radiation. The area where most of the pines grew, in just half an hour turned reddish brown. The trees were felled with machines and buried.

But the horror stories about mutant beasts are pure fiction🇧🇷 In these places, there really were mutations that scientists are still studying. However, most of the impressive images circulating on the internet of animals with multiple heads or with numerous paws are nothing more than Photoshopped montages.

The truth is that, over time, nature surprisingly adapted to radiation🇧🇷 Due to the absence of humans, the Exclusion Zone has become a nature reserve. Hidden cameras that have been placed in the forest capture elk, wolves, wild boar, badgers, foxes, lynx, eagles, storks, bison, bears and Przewalski’s horses.

As time passed, nature began to heal its wounds, the forest came back to life. However, for humans these places are not safe for the next 20,000 years🇧🇷 Despite the level of radiation in recent years having decreased significantly, all water beds and soil remain contaminated.

“The planet is fine…”

In recent decades, art has invaded the entire city of Pripyat and even the nuclear power plant itself. It was decided to decorate your walls with a huge graffiti🇧🇷 A survey was carried out to vote for the best version of the illustration.

The jury, which determined the winner, chose a colorful and symbolic image, but the most popular sympathy came from iconic American comedian George Carlin and his insightful quote.

The city continues to thrill the minds of different artists. Graffiti, which can be found in the most unexpected places, have become a local landmark. The gloomy atmosphere of Pripyat gives the drawings made in the background of the crumbling and abandoned houses a special look.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was in operation until December 15, 2000. After being decommissioned, experts dedicated themselves to safely disposing and storing radioactive waste. Just moving fuel to a specially constructed site took about 15 years. Yet, humanity has not invented a way to extract radioactive graphite from the active zone of the reactor core.

In 2017, over the concrete sarcophagus, the station was covered by a movable arch, whose lifespan is estimated at 100 years. This is the biggest moving bow in the world🇧🇷

Today, more than 2,000 people work at the station. Most of them used to work at the same nuclear power plant and are now dedicated to closing it. For this to happen, it is still necessary to eliminate the remaining waste. This work will last half a century. It will be the next generations who will close the nuclear plant, and the target date has been extended to 2064.

About that, next to the sarcophagus, the first solar power plant was installed🇧🇷 The development of green energy in Chernobyl is a way of using territories that are not suitable for anything else.

The city emptied itself in a single day. The inhabitants left their belongings and their homes in a hurry and never returned. Decades have passed since then, and visitors, albeit for a short time, are showing up in Pripyat. They are relatives who go to visit the graves of their loved ones, as well as scientists, journalists and tourists.

Visitors to Pripyat need to obtain a special pass and pass through a checkpoint. But there are some brave people who willingly enter the city🇧🇷 Among them, many fans of the game STALKER, inspired by the novel by Arkadi and Boris Strugatski “Extraterrestrial Picnic”. That’s why illegal tourists are often called stalkers.

After the television series “Chernobyl”, Pripyat saw a real tourist boom. Guided tours are already booked for the entire summer. The number of tourists that can stay in the city and its surroundings at the same time is regulated and Exclusion Zone locations operate at the limit of their capacity.

Although, sometimes, visitors to this museum city forget that, in places where they now take pictures, tragic events took place. The miniseries writer Craig Mazin asked tourists to respect the memory of the victims and the dead.

Visitors to Pripyat should also remember that the Exclusion Zone is no ordinary place to walk. Radioactive dust is firmly embedded in soil, water and on the walls of buildings. Do not touch anything or sit on the floor, do not eat or drink outdoors.

In the city it is allowed to walk alone along previously established routes🇧🇷 Upon departure, all clothing and belongings will be checked by the dosimeter and cleaned of radiation or removed if the level of contamination is significant.

And would you dare to travel to Pripyat? If you’ve been there, share your impressions.