A nuclear bomb is designed to release all its energy in a massive burst, and the radiation disperses quickly. In the case of Chernobyl, radioactive elements were scattered in an explosion. That means highly radioactive pieces of the reactor, for example, are embedded in the soil and continue to leak radiation into the surrounding environment. Some elderly people from the area have moved back home. At least people are estimated to be in Ukraine's Chernobyl exclusion zone today.
In neighboring Belarus, the number may be higher. So people just choose to believe the government that it's safe. Meanwhile, people living in the Exclusion Zone in Belarus get access to free health care and electricity, among other perks, a fact that has encouraged low-income people and other vulnerable communities to move there.
Russian tourists take advantage of the empty space and pristine nature to camp and fish, and sometimes they temporarily occupy an abandoned house as a summer residence. Newsweek magazine delivered to your door Unlimited access to Newsweek. For more than a year, his family endured daily ID checks at military checkpoints across the city.
They saw dead bodies left lying along the roadside. They even witnessed a murder, when a man was pulled from the car right in front of them by rebels and shot dead in broad daylight. After evacuating his children, Vadim and his wife soon followed. Driving out of Horlivka, they left everything behind them. For several months, living off savings, Vadim travelled around Ukraine looking for ways for his family to start again.
One day, he had a tip-off. A relative had heard about cheap property for sale near Chernobyl. He went to see an abandoned grain silo in the village of Dytyatky. Lying right on the border of the exclusion zone, property was cheap, but it was also close enough to the capital city of Kiev km to make it a viable business opportunity.
I met the owner, and we struck a cheap deal. The first year was the most difficult, but over the last two years I feel much better. Vadim even re-employed seven of his former workers from Donbass, offering them accommodation by converting one of his houses into a hostel. Vadim says he does sometimes think about the radiation. He even bought himself a handheld Geiger counter to measure it. Life may be basic, but neither family wants to move to a bigger town, even if it would mean more friends or opportunities.
Their need for stillness after fleeing from the chaos of war is sobering. Vadim says his wife Olena sometimes likens parts of the derelict exclusion zone to their war-torn hometown of Horlivka. The people who moved to Chernobyl. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster of left a ring of ghost villages as residents fled, fearing radiation poisoning. But now people are choosing to live in the crumbling houses on the edge of the exclusion zone. The family do have a few neighbours, but almost all are in their 70s and 80s.
The exclusion zone. But some people never left. And just outside of the exclusion zone, there are a number of new arrivals. Building a home. Finding refuge. The conflict began in Risks underground. The entrepreneur. Horlivka is still being fought over.
He is confident that the atmospheric radiation level is safe. It was a miracle we survived. Source: AP and CardioSecur. Source: AP. Source: Getty. Source: Getty and Reuters. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Katie Canales. On April 26, , a power surge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in what is the worst nuclear disaster in world history.
Thousands abandoned their homes and their worldly possessions, rendering much of the area surrounding the power plant nearly desolate to this day. However, some residents returned to their villages following the explosion, despite the toxic levels of radiation. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In April , a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant caused an explosion that sent a cloud of radioactive particles across parts of Europe. It was the world's worst nuclear disaster and the equivalent of nuclear bombs.
Thirty-one people died in the explosion, and the areas surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were left permanently contaminated— they are now considered to be some of the most polluted areas on the planet. As a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a nuclear exclusion zone was established in around the area most heavily affected by the radiation. It spanned about a mile radius around the Chernobyl power plant and was later expanded to cover more affected areas.
Around , people were evacuated. Without knowing it at the time, most evacuees left their homes and belongings behind forever, leaving hundreds of abandoned towns and villages in their wake.
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is now the officially designated exclusion zone in Ukraine. It adjoins the exclusion zone in neighboring Belarus, known as the Palieski State Radioecological Reserve. Though the explosion took place in Ukraine, much of the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster was blown north to Belarus.
While the exclusion zone is considered to be too polluted for human habitation, the highly toxic air, water, and soil hasn't stopped some people from returning to their radiation-exposed homes and land.
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