At this point in time, the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl is part of our collective memory. On April 26th 1986 a terrible accident happened with the 4th Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near the city of Pripyat in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (present day Ukraine). It was one of the worst nuclear accidents ever experienced in human history…

Why Chernobyl?

Growing up with a certain mystique surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, culminating in books, a series of cult horror survival video games or even, a few weeks after our visit, a proper short series on the topic, it only made sense for me to also develop some sort of fascination for what happened on April of 1986.

People, now more than ever, always had a fascination for myths of the more macabre kind. Countless of conspiracy theories are discussed online, influencers make podcasts about true crime and tourists visit disaster sites. Cue in Dark Tourism and UrbeX.

I’m not certain if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t really have an opinion to be honest. Whilst I’m not into visiting shrines to serial killers, or this forest in Japan where people go to commit suicide, certainly this “Dark Tourism” is something that also piqued my interest from time to time. From visiting Concentration Camps (KZ Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg, Dachau or Auschwitz-Birkenau) or visiting commercially maintained ossuaries in Paris’ Catacombs, to delving into less secure places like the Odesa “Catacombs” which are really just a big network of interconnected underground limestone quarries and hideouts forming a large cave complex, I’d be lying if I didn’t have an inkling of an interest in it.

I think it all started when, as a kid, my grandmother and I would walk into the woods behind her apartment, armed only with a large flashlight. She knew I didn’t like the dark, but I did love the idea of going on an adventure, and I sure did love my “Mamie” (still do – si tu lis ceci, je t’aime!). Over the years, as someone who mainly travels for fun, my list of things to see mostly gets longer. As you grow up you either make more money to do cooler things, but have less time to spend it, or lack the funds when you actually do have the free time.

Craving things that are no so common, my bucket list always had included Chernobyl.

After travelling a bit in Ukraine me and G2 decided to seriously explore the possibility of doing a trip there. Turns out, you can book day trips with someone who has a specific permit to go in and out of the exclusion zone, they’ll take care of measuring your radiation exposure when you go out, to see if you require decontamination or not, as well as making sure you avoid particularly hazardous areas or pockets of radiation. Whilst some youtubers make it a point to sneak in past the military to go there, I only had a few days and, let’s face it, why would I do this? As much as I’d love to be Indiana Jones, I’m not.

---

At the end of this blog post, you can do something about the situation in Ukraine.

---

Now, for a bit of history…

On the morning of April 26, 1986, a safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plan went catastrophically wrong, causing an explosion in reactor 4 that released a massive amount of radioactive material into the environment.

During the safety test, for which preparations already started in the very early morning of April 25th, the operators were trying to see if the reactor could still produce enough power to run the cooling pumps in case of a power outage. They turned off some of the safety systems and reduced the power output, which created unstable conditions inside the reactor.

At this point, a combination of design flaws and operator errors, such as a failure to follow safety protocols and their total lack of adequate training, caused the reactor to overheat and explode. The design flaws included a positive void coefficient, which meant that as the reactor got hotter, it produced more steam, which in turn made the reactor hotter, creating a positive feedback loop that made the reaction quickly spiral out of control.

The explosion and subsequent fire caused the massive release of radioactive isotopes, including iodine-131 and caesium-137, into the atmosphere, which were carried by winds and deposited across a wide area, including Ukraine, Belarus, and parts of Western Europe.

The disaster had significant environmental, health, and social impacts, including acute radiation sickness among workers and emergency responders, increased rates of cancer and other negative health effects among the exposed population, as well as the displacement of thousands of people from their homes and communities. Finally, it also heavily contaminated the soil, flora and fauna in the immediate environment of the reactor.

Whilst only 31 people died in the immediate aftermath, the experts have estimated a wide range going between 1,000 and well over 100,000 premature deaths or cancer cases linked to the Chernobyl disaster in Europe.

Estimates of the number of people who died or contracted cancer due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster vary, and the exact number is difficult to determine with certainty. However, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) estimates that the disaster caused up to 4,000 deaths from radiation exposure among the workers and emergency responders in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimate that the disaster could eventually lead to up to 4,000 additional deaths from cancer among the general population who were exposed to radiation. However, some independent studies have suggested higher estimates of cancer deaths, up to tens of thousands, while others have disputed the link between radiation exposure and certain health effects.

It’s worth noting that the long-term effects of radiation exposure are difficult to quantify, and the impact of the disaster on the environment and the health of affected communities is still being studied and debated to this day. This truly is etched in our collective memory.

---

Call of Pripyat

So, one fateful morning, we decided to heed the ‘Call of Pripyat’. After a quick coffee at a local spot called The Alchemist, an unmarked van picked us up at a designated spot in downtown Kyiv, where a certain Tania ushered us in. We quickly hit the Ukrainian roads towards one of the worst nuclear disaster sites in human history. She patiently explained to us how to use a Geiger counter to identify areas which would potentially expose us to cancer-inducing doses of radiation or why straying away from her only to waltz into random buildings might lead to the roof or floor suddenly collapsing and us being maimed like idiots. Death was also a possibility in more extreme scenarios of us not listening to the basic safety instructions. Apparently it did happen every now and then that some thrill-seeking idiots got hurt quite a bit or died exploring the ruins. Waivers were signed, and we were given a device which would be used to monitor how much radiation we were exposed to on our way out, to determine if we should undergo decontamination or some sort of quarantine.

Turns out, the Ukrainian government didn’t maintain the region so much (shocker, I know) aside from monitoring who goes in and out of the exclusion zone, and how much radiation they take in, that is.

The nice roads of the capital, Kyiv, slowly giving way to heavily weathered down pavement. We eventually made it to the first gate of the exclusion zone. An imposing gentleman wearing camo, a Kalash swung over his shoulder and a rollie tucked behind his ear, explained once more, this time in a thick Slavic accent, the rules. Our guide’s accreditation was validated a second time and, eventually, as our boots were sludging in the muddied ground from us jumping out of the van, we were told that we could start walking as we already were on outskirts of the abandoned city of Pripyat.

Carefully peaking behind the curtain of what happens when a place is left mostly untouched and everyone has to leave their lives incredibly suddenly, sometimes never even coming back. A place truly abandoned.

---

On the outskirts

Approaching the the city, we were met by the local fauna. Foxes and wild dogs roaming around.

It was interesting to see how in just a few decades, nature can rapidly regain control over an area. On our way to the city’s outskirts, we met curious foxes and wild dogs. The foxes were as curious as foxes generally are, but they were not as skittish.

I attribute this to the fact that they’re mostly malnourished and fed by the local military or visitors like us. The dogs were just the same. They did, however, look like the locals fed them. Locals, you read that right. Some people moved back to the exclusion zone, some since a long time already. In Ukrainian, they are called “Samosely” which roughly translates to “self-settlers”. Some self-settlers are elderly people who feel a strong connection to their homes despite the risks associated with living in a heavily contaminated area. It’s worth noting that the Ukrainian government officially prohibits permanent resettlement in the exclusion zone, but some individuals have chosen to return and live there anyway.

---

Outskirts, black & white

It wouldn’t be one of my blog posts without dramatic black and white pictures. This is a photoblog after all. It’s not supposed to be a collection of walls of text. More like ramblings to accompany pictures.

Here are a few compressed B&W shots of the buildings in the early parts of the exclusion zone. These were taken with a Nikon FX D610 and a Sigma Art 35mm F1.4 or on the mobile phone I had back then, a Huawei P30.

---

Entering Pripyat

Spending hours rummaging through the city’s carcass, at times, you’d think you saw something move in the shadows of the hauntingly surreal abandoned city’s remaining structures. As we ventured through the desolate streets, nature’s reclamation painted an intense picture of decay and abandonment, reminiscent of many survival videogames of the last decade… The derelict buildings stood frozen in time, their crumbling facades whispering tales of a bygone era. The post soviet sometimes brutalist architecture as the only reminder we were still in Ukraine. We treaded cautiously through the eerie remnants now creating liminal spaces, each step echoing a solemn reminder of the tragedy that befell what once was a thriving community.

Amidst the silence, we were engulfed by a sense of awe and melancholy, bearing witness to the poignant legacy of human ambition and its unintended consequences.

At times venturing deeper and deeper in the ruins’ underbelly, being told kindly that we were over extending or that a specific space was too dangerous or radioactive for us to venture further into. At times, we simply couldn’t resist and we entered a few of the buildings, while she wasn’t looking. Tania silently agreeing to “not see us” enter in places where she knew it was relatively safe, even if not allowed.

After all, It would stay between us – and if we got hurt, she could simply say we didn’t listen. Just a few more tourists getting hurt in the zone. Nothing new.

We would explore the gutted remains of once was a supermarket, an apartment complex, what looked like a butcher’s shop (but that definitely was too creepy and unsafe to investigate), offices filled with political placards and, finally, a theater or hall of sorts, where the floor had collapsed. We stopped poking around without our guide as this was definitely one of the places where the structure was not stable.

---

Inside the remains of Pripyat, black & white

---

Pripyat’s Amusement Park

We would reconvene with our guide to look at how radioactive certain areas were or to discuss the history of a specific building. Later, our visit would culminate in the infamous amusement park section of Pripyat. In the Soviet Union, the states would build “Парк культуры и отдыха” (Parks of Culture and Rest) for cities of a certain size. Pripyat had such an amusement park to be inaugurated on May 1st for the May Day celebration in 1986.

As we explored the desolate grounds, the rusted ferris wheel and decaying carousel stood as silent witnesses to the passage of time. Nature had reclaimed its territory, weaving through the skeletal remains of once-vibrant, brand-new, attractions. The faded colors of forgotten rides whispered tales of joy and laughter to be had, now silenced by the echoes of abandonment. Amidst the overgrown pathways, we couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of nostalgia, as we pondered the memories that once filled this now-desolate place, a playground only to the disaster tourists such as ourselves.

The Chernobyl Disaster happening a mere few days before this, the park was apparently never fully opened. Featured extensively in modern day media such as the series of videogames Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, and some other games, movies and books., it is part of our collective memory. Small in size and containing only a few attractions, it still houses some of the highest radiation levels of all of Pripyat, some of the organic moss building up on the attractions registered radiation emitting 25µSv/h, close to the yearly intake of natural radiation.

This can be attributed to the helicopters carrying fallout material landing nearby.

---

A final word

After visiting Pripyat, we visited Duga, an almost 1km long ‘over the horizon radar‘ array used for the Soviet Union’s missile defense system. This radar system was the source of a series of myths and legends about short-wave brainwashing experiments and other more obscure ideas. But this, is a story, for another time or another post.

I have a hard time expressing into words what it meant to be able to visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone. I catch myself often wondering about what is happening in Ukraine these days, given the war, but, I sometimes have a thought for the derelict buildings of the zone or the people deliberately resettling it slowly.

It is with a certain fondness that I remember the look on the face of some family members or friends when I mentioned going to Chernobyl, but G2 not batting an eye and saying something around the lines of “sure, if it’s relatively safe, let’s do it”. That’s the thing, I did not come back glowing in the dark. Whilst there are health risks associated with exposure to ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, we are exposed to this type of radiation daily. Our day trip to the zone wasn’t much worse than the equivalent of a few intercontinental flights; and some people pilot long-haul planes all day long.

The city was incredibly well cleaned by the “liquidators” and whilst the local radioactivity has a pretty long half-life, it’s not a matter of instant death or cancer by being exposed to it. Rather a very small increased risk but one that is very manageable and akin to sun bathing a bit much for one day.

No doubt the exclusion zone has seen much ink be spilled over it. Myths and legends were born in the modern portrayals of the zone and images were etched in our collective imagination. Sure, it makes for a great dystopian or horror story setting – but let’s keep in mind the horrors of the real narrative; many people lost their lives in the aftermath of the Chernobyl catastrophe. The experts can’t agree on the estimated figure as we still have yet to understand truly the ramifications of radioactive fallouts such as this one or Fukushima’s.

One thing’s for sure, it cost many people their lives or their future. Families were displaced, children grew up with extreme challenges, and many people died. That being said, the zone is not a place where there is no life whatsoever; nature thrived undisturbed, reclaiming it. As Graham Gilmore, a photographer who visited the zone a few time says:

Ironically, the only species on Earth unable to inhabit the zone and live freely is humans. Being we’re the ones responsible for the disaster, I think it is fitting for us to be prohibited here, punished in a sense, to learn valuable lessons about atomic energy and what happens when it is not shown the respect it deserves.

Graham Gilmore – “Chernobyl Exclusion Zone”, grahamgilmore.com, June 30th 2009

---

Here is one of the pictures I took during the trip that I like the most.

---

_{⚠️ WARNING :}

_{Please note, I, in no way, recommend that you do visit the the Exclusion Zone. Doing so may result in harm, injury or loss of life. The Exclusion Zone is in part officially closed to the public and your access might infringe on private or government furthermore, Ukraine is currently being attacked, invaded and , in some parts, occupied by Russia. The tensions are very high with neighboring Belarus which was instrumental in Russia’s invasion. Most parts of Ukraine are currently a warzone with many heavily mined sections and daily drone and missile strikes.}

_{Should you decided to visit Ukraine right now, you do so at your own risk and peril.}

---

Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was a thriving European country.