Chernobyl+Pripyat

@chernobyl1986

On April 26, 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in what is now Ukraine exploded. The largest civil nuclear disaster in history led to mass evacuations, and long-term health, agricultural, and economic distress. The nearby city of (which housed 50,000 people) Pripyat has since been abandoned. This blog contains a collection of all things Chernobyl and Pripyat related.

175 posts

Posts

the-future-now-deactivated20170

This team took virtual reality to the Chernobyl site — and the result is haunting

On April 26, 1986, a nuclear power plant explosion near Pripyat, Ukraine killed more than 30 people in the accident. Radioactive dust and debris prompted the Ukraine government to evacuate around 135,000 people from the area. The 19-mile exclusion zone has remained uninhabited for the past three decades, but soon you will be able to explore inside the decaying disaster site yourself.

todayinhistory

April 26th 1986: Chernobyl nuclear disaster

On this day in 1986, a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Radioactive smoke was let into the atmosphere which spread across the Soviet Union and Europe. Thirty-one members of staff and emergency workers died directly due to the accident, but many others died from diseases - often cancer - resulting from exposure to radiation. Hundreds of thousands of people eventually had to be evacuated and resettled due to contamination of areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The disaster raised questions of the safety of nuclear power and encouraged the Soviet government to become more open. Only two nuclear accidents have been classified as level seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale - Chernobyl and the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011.

“For the first time ever, we have confronted in reality the sinister power of uncontrolled nuclear energy.” - Mikhail Gorbachev

30 years ago today

chernobyl1986

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl.

sturmstalker

The Liquidators: The Unknown Heroes of Chernobyl and world . Almost 20 years has past and no body remembers them , their sacrifice and their death.

placebeforebirth

dongulator

Panorama of Chernobyl nuclear powerplant reactors 3 & 4 (left), 5 & 6 (right), and another shot of reactor 4. Photos from 2012. Full set here.

historicaltimes

A Soviet soldier prepares for work, removing reactor debris from a roof in Chernobyl, 1986.

ArchieWoodbine:

The extraordinarily high levels of radiation on the roofs surrounding the plant, in some cases surpassing 1000 Roentgens/hour, fouled the electronics of the robots used to clear the reactor debris strewn across the roofs. Due to this, soldiers were used in their place (dubbed ‘bio-robots’). The soldiers were only be able to work outside for a minute at most, mere seconds in some of the worst areas, before receiving a potentially lethal dose. They lacked effective protective equipment and were not made fully aware of the severe health consequences of their work. (Sources, V.M. Chernousenko. A. Yaroshinskaya. Both entitled 'Chernobyl'.)