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Chernobyl

Inside the Exclusion Zone

By Travel the Road

March 17^th, 2014

kiev, Ukraine

Two hours outside of Kiev on the border with Belarus lies the 30km radius called the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Inside The Zone is Chernobyl nuclear reactor No. 4, whose meltdown in 1986 is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. The Exclusion Zone is home to extremely high levels of radiation including the Red Forest, which is considered the most polluted area in the world. Our mission would be to gain access into The Exclusion Zone and to preach the Gospel to the remnants of elderly people that still live inside and around the Chernobyl zone.

the exclusion zone

After weeks of trying to secure a permit into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, we were finally granted permission and would be the first visitors to enter The Zone in over six months. We had a guide/interpreter to show us around and carried a much needed geiger counter to monitor the severe levels of radiation throughout the area.

A vacant land

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is desolate. Homes are vacant, empty and dilapidated. Nature is rapidly reclaiming all that man has built.

the population

Approximately 3,000 people work in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone on various tasks, such as the construction of the new sarcophagus to surround the damaged nuclear reactor No. 4 and the assessment of the conditions inside The Zone. In the semi-populated worker areas of Chernobyl, classical music is left blaring from loudspeakers to cut the eerie silence.

reactor no. 4

The disaster occurred during a systems test on Saturday, 26 April 1986 at reactor number four of the Chernobyl plant, which is near the city of Pripyat in Ukraine (then the Soviet Union). There was a sudden and unexpected power surge, and when an emergency shutdown was attempted, a larger spike in power output occurred, which led to a reactor rupture and a series of explosions. The resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and blanketed the extensive geographical area, including Pripyat and the neighboring country of Belarus. The plume also drifted over large parts of the western Soviet Union and Europe.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at Reactor Number 4: 3.49

What are these photos about?

the red forest

Formerly called the Wormwood Forest, the name Red Forest comes from the brownish-ginger color of the pine trees after they died following the absorption of high levels of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. After the Chernobyl explosion, the winds blew the heavily contaminated cloud of debris west, directly into the Red Forest. The explosion and meltdown at Chernobyl reactor No. 4 contaminated the soil, water and atmosphere with radiation equivalent to that of 200 times the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The site of the Red Forest remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world today. Needless to say we agreed with our guide that we should not get out of the car or stay in the area long.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Red Forest: 34.07

the abandoned city

In 1986, Pripyat was a beautiful city of 49,000 inhabitants mainly designated for the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It had a cultural center and theater, schools, a gymnasium, an amusement park and row upon row of homes and apartment blocks. Within the days after the Chernobyl disaster, the town became a ghost town never to be populated again. William standing in the abandoned main city square in Pripyat.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at Pripyat: 3.87

What are these photos about?

Palace of CUlture

Soviet propaganda posters and stage props are thrown haphazardly into a pile backstage at the Pripyat theatre. The Palace of Culture in Pripyat had a cinema, a concert hall, dance studios, a swimming pool, study halls, and a full-sized gymnasium.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Palace of Culture: 4.07

Theatre props

Tim stands in the doorway of the Pripyat theatre. Posters and props from plays are still scattered about backstage.

What are these photos about?

the swimming pool

The swimming pool and high dive inside the gymnasium complex of Pripyat.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Swimming Pool: 2.17

pripyat amusement park

The Pripyat amusement park was to be opened on May 1, 1986 in time for Soviet May Day celebrations, but the plans were forever canceled when on April 26th the Chernobyl disaster occurred only a few miles away.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Amusement Park: 4.68

the nursery

Haunting reminders are littered throughout the Pripyat nursery. Sadley enough, the children suffered the most from the extreme amounts of radiation that they were exposed to and experienced a terrible variety of ailments, most commonly was lymph node cancer.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Red Forest: 34.07

kindergarten

Radioactive dolls litter the kindergarten floor. One with gray hair laying on a bed was the most disturbing to find. Beds with tattered sheets lay as they did nearly 30 years ago.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Kindergarten: 9.0

The elementary school

Paint peels from every wall. Some items have been looted and sold in Kiev. Some classrooms still have maps and history lessons attached to the walls. World globes lay as they did in 1986. Like everything in Pripyat, nothing changes.

Normal/safe radiation levels: .12

Radiation levels at the Elementary School: 3.95

a floor of books

Hundreds of library books have spilled into the hallways of the school. A room number on a door with peeling paint. A hallway littered with broken chairs and debris. The schools courtyard is now overtaken by nature.

the masks

One of the strangest things to see were the hundreds of gas masks that had been thrown onto the floor.

What are these photos about?

the forgotten ones

It is estimated that the 30 km radius zone is home to 197 elderly residents living in 11 villages as well as in the town of Chernobyl. After recurrent attempts at expulsion, the authorities have allowed the elderly limited supporting services and the ability to live out the remainder of their lives inside The Chernobyl Zone. We spent days ministering the Gospel in and around the remote areas of The Exclusion Zone.

the elderly

We traveled with a Christian doctor named Maximo who escorted us into restricted areas where he ministers and helps the elderly people with any medical needs that they may have.

What are these photos about?

sadness and joy

An elderly woman weeps as she speaks of a son that she lost. She was so kind and welcoming to us and appreciated the time we spent and the Message we shared.

Ivan and MAria

An elderly couple living deep inside The Zone. They were warned by the government not to return, but they wanted to live out the remainder of their years in their own home. They get few visitors and it was a blessing to spend time and share the Gospel with them.