Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Day 2: Pripyat

Irradiated.
That pretty much sums up the whole day.  This morning we drove to Dom Kulturi (Palace of Culture) in the city of Chernobyl where the trial was held in 1987 and a few lead officials were sentenced to ten years of hard labor for the Chernobyl disaster.  Next, we drove to the cemetery, however our driver would only take us part of the way due to the levels of radiation.  We walked around the cemetery and saw many radioactive signs, however none of them were above typical background levels.

We then proceeded to the 'cave' under the Pripyat hospital, which is affectionately nicknamed 'hell'.  Soon after the disaster, the first response firefighters went to the hospital and removed their equipment in the basement and the equipment is still there today.  Maksim decided that the levels on his dosimeter were too high for him, so he left but allowed the four of us to remain in 'hell' to search.  Fourty feet into hell, we found a hot mattress of sorts in the hallway.  Next, we found a pair of firefighter's boots which read 80 milli-roentgens (We have a video, just email me to see it).  Next, we headed into a room off the main hallway and found even more equipment including firefighter helmets.  Nearby, something read 250 milli-roentgens, which with think was another pair of boots.  We continued on and found a hallway filled with rusty oxygen tanks, all spread haphazardly over the floor.  At this point, we decided it would be hard to traverse the tanks, so we decided to turn around and return to the van.  Carl and Mike both had to wash their shoes as they were reading slightly contaminated (mine were fine).


I would like to point out that 80 milli-roentgens is considered a radioactive zone in the US.  We were standing by stuff with 250 milli-roentgens (a quarter of a roentgen/hr).  Being exposed to 2 roentgens/hr is a lethal dose if exposed for a decent amount of time.  Basically, we were in a highly radioactive area with no protection.  Dangerous? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

After the commotion, we headed out to a place with a claw from a crane used to clean up some part of the disaster.  Maksim said that the 10 milli-roentgens were too much for him (mind you, we were all okay with the 250 milli-roentgens on the boots earlier).  The last place we went before returning for lunch was the city stadium complex.  After lunch, we saw the swimming pool complex.  This place was massive with two pools and many rooms underneath the large one.  We could see the the cracks in the concrete beneath the pool; we don't think it has more than 10 years left in it...

Our next stop was one of the more well known schools.  Here, we found tons of gas masks and gas canisters in the cafeteria.  We then went to the city amusement park and saw the Pripyat ferris wheel (which was never officially opened before the disaster), the bumper cars, and the two swing rides.  The whole place really feels like it was a resort, and it basically was.  The Soviet Union built the city for the plant workers and it was actually a privilege to live and work here.  Our next stop was a sixteen story apartment complex.  We climbed to the roof of the complex and got a panoramic view of the city, the plant, and the Duga-3 station (the Russian Woodpecker).  The lighting was absolutely beautiful here, and the view was simply heavenly.  It was really calming looking over the evacuated city growing into nature...  Last stop of the day was the 'Energetik', or the Pripyat Palace of Culture.  This place was massive (I actually got lost in it towards the end).  We saw the main auditorium, many stages, classrooms, and the scenic gymnasium with not only a splendid view of the ferris wheel, but a 24 year-old tree growing through the floor boards.

Sigh.  It's still so surreal to be here in the abandoned city of Pripyat.  The experience, although slightly hot (both the weather and the radiation), has been a lot of fun, and very calming.

I'm now back in the hotel room, chilling and sorting pictures for everyone (combined trip so far: 33GB, 25 GB from me alone).  It's been a long few days, and it still continues tomorrow with a visit to the reactor facilities.  Very few people get permission to enter the ЧАЭС (Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station) facilities.  Be jealous!