Do people work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. What happened in Chernobyl - the causes of the accident, facts and theories. What is happening there now? Who are self-settlers
PHOTO Denis Sinyakov
The collapse of stereotypes
Checkpoint "Dityatki", 10 microR/h
Welcome, - the policeman at the Dityatki checkpoint, the only legal entry into the zone, takes the trip program approved for us with the photographer in advance. It lists places we can visit. Correcting them on the spot will not work - a secure facility.
Aren't we supposed to wear overalls and masks? - I'm interested in the guide Anton. He will be with us throughout the trip - you cannot be in the zone without an escort.
Don't worry, you won't glow in the dark. It was "dirty" here until 1996. Today, radiation does not exceed the permissible norm - 30 μR / hour. In one day, I gain no more than 300 μR - this is negligible. For comparison, during fluorography, a person receives a radiation dose of 11,000 microR. There are places where the dosimeter shows more than 1000 microR/hour, for example, near the station or in Pripyat, but we try not to stay there for more than ten minutes. Do not expect destroyed houses, broken windows, forgotten things scattered on the streets. This is only in the zone in Pripyat, where no one lives. And in Chernobyl there are constantly at least 3,000 people - employees of the enterprises of the zone. So the city is an ordinary regional center: clean and well-groomed.
From the checkpoint to Chernobyl - 25 km. Ideally paved road with fresh markings and asks to drive. But Anton, who famously covered 140 km from Kiev to the checkpoint in less than an hour, suddenly slowed down - 40 km on the speedometer.
Exceed - a fine: there is a traffic police post in the zone, - Anton explains. - The speed limit has been preserved from the early days of the accident, when they tried to drive carefully in order to raise less radioactive dust from the ground. Today, the restriction helps to immediately catch the rhythm of Chernobyl life, where no one is in a hurry - everything is subject to a clear schedule that people are happy to follow.
PHOTO Denis Sinyakov
Imaginary health
Hospital, 12 microR/h
On the mainland, how do you treat yourself: it hurts - it will pass, there is no time to run to the doctors. And here at least once a year you are examined
Once a year, Chernobyl workers are required to undergo a full medical examination. The hospital is no different from the usual city. Unless there are unbearable queues and the first thing patients do not go to the therapist, but to the office of individual dosimetric control, which is managed by the "Ecocenter" of the zone.
We check people on the WBC apparatus - human radiation spectrometer. Now I'll show you - 59-year-old Natalia Mamai seats the photographer on an ordinary-looking leather chair in the center of the room, while she herself runs to the computer. - The device shows the content of cesium 137 - the main component of radioactive contamination of the biosphere. If a person has eaten something "dirty": fish, meat, apples, cesium enters the stomach, and the apparatus sees it. Your photographer is clean. And yesterday at one employee of station indicators went off scale. He said he had eaten wild apples. But I myself eat Chernobyl apples, and there are no such indicators. I think he swallowed something bigger: a fish or some animal. But this is not scary - cesium leaves the body naturally in two weeks. The only cure is to drink more milk. People here take care of their health, just go to the doctor. And on the mainland, how do you treat yourself: it hurts - it will pass, there is no time to run to the doctors. And here, like it or not, you are examined at least once a year.
First person
Tatyana Potapenko, nurse
PHOTO Denis Sinyakov
“Immediately after the accident, I worked in the medical unit 126, where the first victims were brought. We took off their clothes with our bare hands, washed them with water and vinegar - then no one knew what to do with radiation, we used everything that was possible. Doctors in the hospital were forced to drink a glass of alcohol - it was believed that alcohol somehow helps to cope with radiation. Then it became clear that not all alcohol, but only red wine. People looked terrible: burns all over their bodies, similar to thermal ones, and groans all around ... Scary, but they had to help.
A week later, we were evacuated to a neighboring city, but I soon returned to Chernobyl, where they organized a branch of the medical unit: it was necessary to take care of the health of the liquidators who came here from all sides. I still received a large dose, I have nothing to lose, so I stayed here. Now I can't imagine my life anywhere else. Now there are no previous doses of radiation and people are getting healthier. About ten years ago there was a trend towards cancer, every third had an increase in the thyroid gland and goiter. Now there are fewer such cases. Yes, at least look at me: I’ve been working in the zone since the accident, and nothing. ”
Do not stop
NPP, >500 microR/h
At seven in the morning, buses depart from the bus station in Chernobyl: they are taking builders to the nuclear power plant, 12 km from the city. After the checkpoint "Lelev" - a pass to the 10-kilometer zone, the urban landscape is replaced by an industrial one: the sky in the distance is cut by the concrete pipes of the station, above them is an arch - a new, more advanced sarcophagus, which should cover the old one and last a hundred years.
We leave on the road around the station, Anton puts pressure on the gas. After a few seconds, I understand why. The dosimeter goes crazy, the numbers from 37 microR/hour suddenly start jumping: 167, 120, 385, 540... We rush past the third power unit, go around the station on the other side - here it is already 220 microR/hour. You can stay no more than ten minutes to take photos of the station and the arch from the only allowed angle.
The salary here is twice as high as elsewhere in Ukraine, a roof over your head, three meals a day
Only the builders of the new sarcophagus and those who are liquidating the metal of the reactor are at the station - it is taken to Buryakovka. There, 50 kilometers from Chernobyl, is the only operating burial ground - 49-year-old Vladimir, the builder of the arch, adjusts the radiation monitoring sensor attached to the pocket of gray overalls. - We work in shifts: we build for four days, we leave the zone for three days. Such conditions are due to very high levels of radiation. But the salary here is twice as high as elsewhere in Ukraine, a roof over our heads, three meals a day, specially designed for us. Beauty, not life!
calorie counting
Canteen No. 19, NPP, 15 microR/h
At 600 meters from the station, a gray two-story building is a canteen for nuclear power plant workers. Inside, everything is sterile: snow-white walls, and you can see the reflection in the gray floor tiles - they are so polished. A staircase with sparkling metal handrails beckons you to quickly climb up. But there is a barrier in front of her: "undressing" scanners. Before entering the canteen, where the radiation background does not exceed 20 μR / hour, the station employees are obliged to independently check whether they have brought something “dirty” on their clothes and shoes.
The menu is scheduled for seven days of the week, two to choose from, - a smiling and hospitable deputy head of production, Ekaterina Belyak, unfolds a paper sheet on the table. - Instead of food prices - caloric content and content of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Station staff eat three times a day. During the day, they should gain 1600 calories, proteins and fats - at least 60, carbohydrates - at least 190. An accurate calculation allows you not to lose weight and not gain. At the same time, the person does not get tired. We decide for people what to eat - they do not have this headache.
First person
Natalia Mamai, Ecocenter employee
PHOTO Denis Sinyakov
“It is good and pleasant to work in Chernobyl. We have excellent conditions: the employees of the zone have 40 days of vacation, and I have 56, because I was evacuated. But I don’t like to leave here - here is a house, people are relatives and friends. I lived in Pripyat when the accident happened. My family and I were given an apartment in Dnepropetrovsk. A couple of years later she divorced her husband, and it was so hard in a foreign city, everyone dreamed of returning home. And then I met a man in Dnepropetrovsk. As soon as he found out that I was from Pripyat, he rushed to hug and kiss me. It turned out he lived on the next street. By the time we met, he had already returned to Chernobyl - he dismantled the reactor, and helped me get settled in the zone. I have been working here for 12 years.
My daughter did not go to Chernobyl - when the accident happened, she was 2.5 years old. Since then, she has suffered from headaches. But the eldest son moved with me. I got him a job at the station - a new shelter is being built. We went to Pripyat several times with him. They checked with a dosimeter what was phonite, what was not: they took away books, dishes, bed linen. It was terrible to come to the ruined house, but all the same it was somehow warm from the fact that she had not gone far. In Chernobyl, I have a dorm room. When I have to leave for half a month, I miss it terribly. There are more opportunities on the mainland, but here is a home and there is confidence in the future: they won’t be fired from work, they won’t take away housing.
Philosophy of the zone
Bus station, 15 microR/hour
At 17:40 the last bus leaves for Kiev. Those who have completed their 15-day watch are drinking coffee on a bench while waiting for departure to the mainland.
The zone will live forever. Look how many of you young people have arrived - in a tall, slender brunette I recognize 51-year-old Vladimir Sokol - the laura of the local hospital. He does not notice me and the photographer, but is talking enthusiastically with a girl of about 25 who has completed her first shift and is waiting to return home. - Six years ago, in Chernobyl, 0.5% of employees were from 20 to 30 years old, and now - 13%. It is you who want to go home as soon as possible, while others are happy to come here. Everything is good here.
What about radiation? It's scary ... I want children ...
What's stopping you? Have you heard about Maria of Chernobyl? In 1999, Lida Savenko, an employee of the station, gave birth to a healthy girl, Masha. Although Lida had lived here for ten years by that time, the girl had no pathologies!
Radiation can be dangerous, but this danger is far away, just like death. And life is here and now. AND good life, calm
They tried to evict Lida and the girl, - the doctor continues the story. - They lasted seven years. Masha is a healthy, smart, quick-witted girl. Then the mother nevertheless took her daughter away, but not because of radiation, but in order for the girl to communicate with her peers. So don't be afraid.
It's still scary...
Are you afraid of death? I'm afraid, the doctor continues. - But this does not stop meeting friends in the evenings, having children, building a house, going fishing and dreaming. It's the same with radiation. It may be dangerous, but this danger is far away, just like death. And life is here and now. And a good life, calm and understandable.
Postcards from Pripyat, Chernobyl from Danny Cooke on Vimeo .
Stela Chernobyl
When the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 ended life in many settlements, the inhabitants of Chernobyl also had to leave their city. After all, although this city is located several kilometers further from the station than Pripyat, it, one way or another, is included in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone.
Chernobyl today for many people who are incompetent in the matter of the Chernobyl accident is the same as Pripyat. However, if in Pripyat life stopped for many millennia, then in Chernobyl the situation is much better.
Streets of Chernobyl
Chernobyl today in 2018 is a time machine that sends tourists back 30 years. Clean, well-groomed streets, painted curbs and whitewashed trees, peace and quiet - Chernobyl can boast of all this now.
Modern tourists who have managed to get acquainted with the topic of the Chernobyl disaster and read a lot of useful, and possibly unconfirmed information, will definitely be interested in the question of whether there is radiation in Chernobyl.
For many, it seems surprising how you can live in a place that is infected with dangerous elements. However, if you understand this issue, then everything turns out to be not so scary.
Apartment buildings in Chernobyl
So, life in Chernobyl is now safe, because the level of gamma radiation here does not exceed 0.2-0.3 microsievert per hour. Similar values are noted in Kiev, and they are quite acceptable. In other words, the background radiation in the Chernobyl area is normal.
At the same time, the population of the city is somewhat different from the population in other cities of Ukraine. The inhabitants of Chernobyl today are self-settlers who returned to their native places despite all the risks and inconveniences. Mostly they are middle-aged and elderly people. The number of self-settlers in Chernobyl, as of 2017, is 500-700 people.
I am now preparing a large cycle of photo reports from Chernobyl, and I decided to make a publication about the current radiation levels in the Chernobyl zone as the first post - perhaps this is the first thing they ask those who have returned from there, personally 20 people have already written to me with a question about radiation)
To begin with, a short introduction about how and with what the Chernobyl zone was polluted. On the night of April 26, 1986, a strong explosion occurred at the Fourth Unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as a result of which the reactor core and the reactor hall were destroyed, as a result of which a huge amount (tens of tons) of radioactive substances were released into the atmosphere. The main radioactive "dirt" that fell on the adjacent territories is such fission products of uranium as cesium-137 and strontium-90, as well as plutonium, americium and other transuranium elements.
After the fallout of radioactive substances, two pollution perimeters formed around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - the so-called Thirty-kilometer and Ten-kilometer exclusion zones, in the language of ChEZ workers, simply referred to as "Thirty" and "Ten". In the "Thirty" is the city of Chernobyl itself, as well as several adjacent villages. The radioactive level "in the air" here is practically normal, but it is still impossible to live in this territory, since there is a deep contamination of soils and all plants that grow in this territory with radionuclides.
"Ten" - much more dirty. Inside this perimeter is the Chernobyl station itself, the Red Forest, the antennas of the Chernobyl-2 facility and the city of Pripyat. There are also radioactive burial grounds with buried equipment, clothes and equipment of the liquidators. Relatively clean are roads (but not roadsides) that have been resurfaced several times since 1986.
Under the cut - a continuation and a story about radiation levels.
02. Here is a map posted in the area of the Dityatki checkpoint, which is located at the entrance to the Thirty-Kilometer Exclusion Zone. For the internal convenience of the employees of ChEZ "Thirty" is divided into two parts - Zone-II and Zone-III. In Zone-II there are various abandoned villages and various planned works are being carried out. Zone-III includes the city of Chernobyl and enterprises operating on the territory of the ChEZ - canteens, shops, and so on.
Zone number I is the same "Ten" in which all radiation-hazardous objects are located and the most dangerous work is carried out.
03. "Thirty" and "Ten" each have their own checkpoint with dosimetric frames - at the exit from each zone you go through radiation control for the presence of radioactive contamination on your clothes. It happens that the frames work, then the dosimetrists will try to clean the clothes, and if this does not work out, then the clothes (or shoes) will have to be left at the checkpoint.
04. In the city of Chernobyl, the radioactive background practically does not differ from Minsk, Moscow or Kiev - when measured "by air" it is about 12-15 microroentgen per hour. This is not the first time I have come to Chernobyl, and I have never been able to measure anything above 15-17 microroentgens here. There are no ordinary residents in the city of Chernobyl now, but employees of the Exclusion Zone live - they are involved in various planned works to clean up the territory, build a new sarcophagus, and so on. Currently, the IAEA regulations allow living in the Chernobyl city on a rotational basis - about 2-3 months within six months.
05. We are approaching the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself, near the unfinished Fifth and Sixth power units there is an abandoned fish farm. This body of water is directly connected to the Chernobyl cooling pond:
06. Radiation levels here are already noticeably above the norm, the counters show a background of about 50-60 mcr / hour. It is considered safe to be in such a radiation field for several hours, but, of course, it is impossible to live in such a territory for years.
07. The most "dirty" place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is the observation deck near the Fourth power unit, it is a small area with parking, where tourists are often brought up. The radiation background at the viewing Chernobyl NPP is about 400-500 mkr / hour, if the wind blows from the side of the sarcophagus, it can rise to 600-700.
But this is the entrance to the dining room building on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself - tourists are usually not taken there.
07. Radiation measurements inside the building - everything is normal. By the way, everyone who comes to the dining room also passes through the dosimetric control frame, as at a checkpoint. The frame is needed in order to prevent any radionuclides from entering the premises where food is located.
08. Lunch at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant) Of course, the radioactive background is normal - since absolutely all products are imported here, no economic activity is carried out on the territory of the ChEZ. In general, I’ll make a separate big report about the dining room, so don’t miss it)
09. We go by car to the western part of the Zone perimeter, towards the abandoned city of Polesskoye. There are rather "dirty" sections on this route, where the background radiation jumps to 150-200 mcr / hour - this is because the so-called "Western trail" passed through this territory - when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant burned, the wind blew in this direction and then the rain fell.
10. We compare the readings of two dosimeters. Mine with a mica sensor reacts a little faster than the gas-discharge "Terra-P", and therefore slightly higher numbers on its screen. Looking ahead, I will say that we did not manage to measure anything more than short-term jumps in the dosimeter readings up to 150-200 microroentgens per hour.
11. Abandoned economic complex in the abandoned city of Polesskoye with moss sprouting through the asphalt, let's take measurements here - moss very often accumulates radiation, "getting" it from the soil.
12. Everything is clean, the dosimeter readings do not exceed the background indicators in Kiev or Minsk.
13. Measurement of the background in the hostel building in Polessky - the background is also normal.
As you can see, the radiation levels in the modern Chernobyl zone are not that high and are practically safe for a one-day visit to these territories. During a flight in an ordinary aircraft at an altitude of 8-10 thousand meters, a person stays in much higher radioactive fields (500-800 mcr/hour) for several hours.
Why did this happen, where did the radiation "disappear", and why, in this case, is it now forbidden to live in the Chernobyl zone? Background indicators fell for several reasons - firstly, the main background in 1986 was created by short-lived isotopes like radioactive iodine, from which by 2017 there was no trace. For comparison, you can imagine that on April 26, the background in the city of Pripyat was 1 r / h (or 1,000,000 mkr / h), which required an urgent evacuation of the city, now the background there does not exceed 100-200 mkr / hour. The second reason for the fall of the background is the decontamination work of the liquidators, who washed the houses and laid new road surfaces.
At the same time, of course, it is impossible to live permanently in the Chernobyl zone - there is extremely strong contamination of soil and water with radionuclides, which is safe for a tourist visit, but is absolutely incompatible with permanent residence there. In addition, there are still extremely radioactive spots (of various sizes) on the territory of the ChEZ, which is also very dangerous for permanent life in this territory.
So it goes. If you have any questions about Chernobyl - write in the comments)
On April 26, 1986, one of the worst man-made disasters in human history occurred. After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, residents of the surrounding area were evacuated in 36 hours. Because of the danger, they could not take any personal belongings or pets with them. In the first days after the explosion, several dozen people died, in subsequent years, the consequences of the disaster led to the death of several thousand. Now in the "exclusion zone" - this is how the thirty-kilometer territory around the explosion site is called - time seems to have stopped. Scattered toys and bedspreads lie in the deserted gardens, things are thrown in the houses. Cities are gradually covered with dust and "surrender" to growing, in spite of everything, trees. Specialists still work there, eliminating the consequences of the accident, and tourists also come to see with their own eyes a country that no longer exists. About what the exclusion zone looks like today - in the material of our colleagues from the NGS portal.
Andrey Shevchenko from Novosibirsk recently visited the crash site. He is 26 years old, an electrical engineer by education, and a design engineer by profession.
I started to get interested in this story [of the Chernobyl accident] when I came across nuclear objects at work. Unlike those who like to play the game "Stalker", I was interested to know from a technical point of view - what happened, why did it happen? And over time, there was a desire to look at all this with my own eyes, - Andrey said.
They get into the exclusion zone legally (to go centrally with a tour) and illegally, he noted. It is legally safer because tourists walk along pre-established routes. Those who come on their own may end up in places that “still glow” and risk receiving a serious dose of radiation.
Excursions are conducted by Kiev companies. He traveled to Kiev by bus from Moscow. According to Andrei, despite the "piquancy" associated with political situation(the tour was in October 2017), there were no problems at the border. I needed a passport, an invitation. Instead of an invitation, there was a warrant for a tour. Plus a return ticket. At the checkpoint they did not demand money, however, according to the rules of crossing the border, they may be asked to show money to prove solvency.
They asked the purpose of the visit, I showed the documents. A couple of questions like “have you visited before” - and with a calm soul they missed it, - the tourist recalls.
Arriving in Kiev, Andrey phoned a company that conducts excursions, spent the night in a hostel (a room in the center of Kiev cost 300 rubles), and in the morning went to the station to wait for his group. The tour was in Russian, there were two more citizens of Latvia in the company with Andrey.
The exclusion zone is located 110 kilometers from Kiev - they got there by minibus in a little over an hour.
The first Dityatki checkpoint is near the town of Ivankov. They check all the documents, check with the pre-sent lists of tourists.
In general, even before the entrance it becomes clear that settlements are disappearing. Just an ordinary forest and steppe begin. We stopped at the first settlement that came across - Zalesye. This is a small village. We made the first stop, went into small houses, into the house of culture. Old Soviet signs, - says Andrey.
There are no permanent residents in Chernobyl, but station workers who continue to work to eliminate the accident live. There is a memorial "Star Wormwood" in the city, and behind it is an alley of cities that did not exist after the nuclear accident.
The best time for the excursion, according to Andrey, is the off-season. It can get hot in the summer, as visitors are required to wear full-body clothing (the face can be uncovered), and cities are overgrown with bushes and trees that obscure the view.
When leaving, tourists are passed through special dosimeters, and if the level of radiation on their clothes is above the norm, they will be asked to take them off and leave them. This happened to a girl once, and she had to leave without pants.
Andrey took a dosimeter with him, which he bought in advance via the Internet. If you don't have one, you can rent it (it will cost $10).
Closer to the site of the explosion, we passed another inspection point - Lelev checkpoint. Then the group went towards the closed city Chernobyl-2. V Soviet time its place was classified, officially there was a pioneer camp. There is a radar station "Duga" with a height of 140 meters.
It was built in order to track the launches of nuclear missiles in any corner of the planet, - says Andrey. - Covered up after the accident.
When we fly on an airplane, the background there reaches 200-300, which is 10 times higher than the norm, - he gave an example.
The next stop is the village of Kopachi. When the liquidation of the accident began, this village was simply buried in the ground, that is, ditches were specially made, houses were demolished with machinery. Now there are only yellow posts with a sign in this place. True, later experts realized that this was a mistake, since the groundwater here was too high and radiation began to enter the soil.
We went to the kindergarten. It becomes a little creepy there - a bunch of children's things, toys and so on. All this is worn out by time, of course. But impressionable people will be impressed. Live, of course, everything looks different than in the pictures. I rather experienced a feeling of emptiness when there were so many people - and once, in one day, everyone was evicted, - says Andrey.
Now there is a new arch above the nuclear power plant - the old shelter has fallen into disrepair, because it was built in haste. The height of the new arch would make it possible to place the Statue of Liberty under it, - says Andrei.
The observation deck is located several hundred meters from the exploded reactor - the dosimeter readings there are about 10 times higher than the norm.
Pripyat is a city that was resettled 36 hours after the accident. In Soviet times, it was a fairly rich city, the city of nuclear scientists - a highly paid profession, many wanted to get there. The average age of residents was only 26 years old, the city was founded in 1970.
Shortly before the entrance we made a stop at the stele. There begins a huge radiation spot - a red forest. After the explosion, everything that came out of this reactor flew into the air and stretched towards the northwest. The name "red forest" - because the primary cloud flew over the forest, and it turned red. Red branches, red needles. There is still a very high background after many years, - says Andrey.
In the medical unit No. 126, where the first victims were brought, Andrey brought the dosimeter to a piece of a firefighter's balaclava, which was lying on the table - the indicators went off scale by 500 times.
One of the most famous objects of the ghost town, as Pripyat is called, is the Ferris wheel. They wanted to launch it on May 1, before that there were only trial launches. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred on April 26 - the wheel did not work.
In the exclusion zone there is a monument to those who saved the world. It was put by the liquidators of the accident on the tenth anniversary of the tragic date. There, according to Andrey, everyone who really saved the world is depicted - firefighters, station workers, doctors.
On the way back, passing through the red forest, the group accelerated. Perhaps, Andrei says, because the dosimeters showed an excess of the radiation norm. However, the final figures reported that the dose of radiation received was within the normal range.
This is an indescribable experience from visiting a ghost town. On the one hand, it is insanely interesting and curious to look at a dead Soviet city, but on the other hand, you see with your own eyes the monstrous cost of human error and understand how powerless we are before nature, - Andrey shared.
April 26 - Day of Remembrance for those killed in radiation accidents and disasters. This year marks 32 years since Chernobyl disaster- the largest in the history of nuclear power in the world.
April 26 is the Day of Remembrance for those killed in radiation accidents and catastrophes. This year marks 33 years since the Chernobyl disaster - the largest in the history of nuclear energy in the world. A whole generation has already grown up that did not experience this terrible tragedy, but on this day we traditionally remember Chernobyl. After all, only by remembering the mistakes of the past can we hope not to repeat them in the future.
In 1986, an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl reactor No. 4, and several hundred workers and firefighters tried to put out the fire, which had been burning for 10 days. The world was enveloped in a cloud of radiation. Then about 50 employees of the station were killed and hundreds of rescuers were injured. It is still difficult to determine the scale of the catastrophe and its impact on people's health - only from 4 to 200 thousand people died from cancer that developed as a result of the received dose of radiation. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will be unsafe for people to live for several more centuries.
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1. This 1986 aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, shows the destruction from the explosion and fire of Reactor 4 on April 26, 1986. As a result of the explosion and the fire that followed it, a huge amount of radioactive substances was released into the atmosphere. Ten years after the world's largest nuclear disaster, the power plant continued to operate due to an acute shortage of electricity in Ukraine. The final stop of the power plant occurred only in 2000. (AP Photo/ Volodymyr Repik) 
2. On October 11, 1991, while reducing the speed of turbine generator No. 4 of the second power unit for its subsequent shutdown and putting the separator-superheater SPP-44 into repair, an accident and a fire occurred. This photograph, taken during a press visit to the station on October 13, 1991, shows part of the collapsed roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, destroyed by fire. (AP Photo/Efrm Lucasky) 
3. Aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, after the largest nuclear disaster in human history. The picture was taken three days after the explosion at the nuclear power plant in 1986. In front of the chimney is the destroyed 4th reactor. (AP Photo) 
4. Photo from the February issue of the Soviet Life magazine: the main hall of the 1st power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 29, 1986 in Chernobyl (Ukraine). Soviet Union acknowledged that there had been an accident at the power plant, but did not provide further information. (AP Photo) 
5. A Swedish farmer removes straw contaminated through precipitation several months after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in June 1986. (STF/AFP/Getty Images) 
6. A Soviet medical worker examines an unknown child who was evacuated from the nuclear disaster zone to the Kopelovo state farm near Kiev on May 11, 1986. The picture was taken during a trip organized by the Soviet authorities to show how they deal with the accident. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko) 
7. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev (center) and his wife Raisa Gorbacheva during a conversation with the management of the nuclear power plant on February 23, 1989. This was the first visit by a Soviet leader to the station since the April 1986 accident. (AFP PHOTO/TASS) 
8. Kievans stand in line for forms before checking for radiation contamination after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Kiev on May 9, 1986. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko) 
9. A boy reads an ad on a closed playground gate in Wiesbaden on May 5, 1986, which says: "This playground is temporarily closed." A week after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion on 26 April 1986, the Wiesbaden municipal council closed all playgrounds after detecting levels of radioactivity between 124 and 280 becquerels. (AP Photo/Frank Rumpenhorst) 
10. One of the engineers who worked at the Chernobyl NPP undergoes a medical examination at the Lesnaya Polyana sanatorium on May 15, 1986, a few weeks after the explosion. (STF/AFP/Getty Images) 
11. Advocacy activists environment railroad cars are marked with dried serum contaminated with radiation. Photo taken in Bremen, northern Germany on February 6, 1987. The serum, which was brought to Bremen for further transport to Egypt, was produced after the Chernobyl accident and was contaminated with radioactive fallout. (AP Photo/Peter Meyer) 
12. An abattoir worker puts suitability stamps on cow carcasses in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, on May 12, 1986. According to the decision of the Minister of Social Affairs of the federal state of Hesse, after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, all meat began to be subjected to radiation control. (AP Photo/Kurt Strumpf/stf) 
13. Archival photo dated April 14, 1998. Workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant pass by the control panel of the destroyed 4th power unit of the station. On April 26, 2006, Ukraine marked the 20th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which affected the fate of millions of people, required astronomical costs from international funds and became an ominous symbol of the dangers of nuclear energy. (AFP PHOTO/ GENIA SAVILOV) 
14. In the picture, which was taken on April 14, 1998, you can see the control panel of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ GENIA SAVILOV) 
15. Workers who took part in the construction of a cement sarcophagus that closes the Chernobyl reactor, in a memorable photo in 1986 next to an unfinished construction site. According to the data of the Union of Chernobyl of Ukraine, thousands of people who took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster died from the consequences of radiation contamination, which they suffered during work. (AP Photo/ Volodymyr Repik) 
16. High-voltage towers near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant June 20, 2000 in Chernobyl. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) 
17. Operator on duty nuclear reactor records control readings at the site of the only operating reactor No. 3, on Tuesday, June 20, 2000. Andrey Shauman pointed angrily at a switch hidden under a sealed metal cover on the control panel of the reactor at Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant whose name has become synonymous with nuclear catastrophe. “This is the same switch that can be used to turn off the reactor. For $2,000, I'll let anyone push that button when the time comes," Shauman, acting chief engineer, said at the time. When that time arrived on December 15, 2000, environmental activists, governments, and ordinary people around the world breathed a sigh of relief. However, for the 5,800 Chernobyl workers, it was a day of mourning. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
18. 17-year-old Oksana Gaibon (right) and 15-year-old Alla Kozimerka, victims of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, are being treated with infrared rays at the Tarara Children's Hospital in the capital of Cuba. Oksana and Alla, like hundreds of other Russian and Ukrainian teenagers who received a dose of radiation, were treated for free in Cuba as part of a humanitarian project. (ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP)
19. Photo dated April 18, 2006. A child during treatment at the Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, which was built in Minsk after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, representatives of the Red Cross reported that they were faced with a lack of funds to further help the victims of the Chernobyl accident. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images) 
20. View of the city of Pripyat and the fourth reactor of Chernobyl on December 15, 2000 on the day of the complete shutdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Photo by Yuri Kozyrev/Newsmakers) 
21. Ferris wheel and carousel in the deserted amusement park of the ghost town of Pripyat, next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant May 26, 2003. The population of Pripyat, which in 1986 was 45,000 people, was completely evacuated within the first three days after the explosion of the 4th reactor No. 4. Explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant thundered at 1:23 am on April 26, 1986. The resulting radioactive cloud damaged much of Europe. According to various estimates, from 15 to 30 thousand people subsequently died as a result of exposure to radiation. Over 2.5 million people in Ukraine suffer from diseases acquired as a result of exposure, and about 80,000 of them receive benefits. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
22. Pictured on May 26, 2003: an abandoned amusement park in the city of Pripyat, which is located next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
23. Pictured May 26, 2003: gas masks on the floor of a classroom in a school in the ghost town of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
24. In the photo dated May 26, 2003: a TV case in a hotel room in the city of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
25. View of the ghost town of Pripyat next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
26. Pictured January 25, 2006: an abandoned classroom in a school in the deserted city of Pripyat near Chernobyl, Ukraine. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will be unsafe for people to live for several more centuries. According to scientists, the complete decomposition the most dangerous radioactive elements will take about 900 years. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
27. Textbooks and notebooks on the floor of a school in the ghost town of Pripyat January 25, 2006. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
28. Toys and a gas mask in the dust in the former primary school abandoned city of Pripyat on January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
29. In the photo on January 25, 2006: an abandoned sports hall of one of the schools in the deserted city of Pripyat. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
30. What is left of the school gym in the abandoned city of Pripyat. January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
31. A resident of the Belarusian village of Novoselki, located just outside the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in a picture dated April 7, 2006. (AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV) 33. On April 6, 2006, an employee of the Belarusian radiation and ecological reserve measures the level of radiation in the Belarusian village of Vorotets, which is located within a 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images) 
34. Residents of the village of Ilintsy in the closed area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 100 km from Kiev, pass by the rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, who are rehearsing before a concert on April 5, 2006. Rescuers organized an amateur concert dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster for more than three hundred people (mostly elderly people) who returned to live illegally in villages located in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) 37. Construction team wearing masks and special protective suits on April 12, 2006 during work to strengthen the sarcophagus covering the destroyed 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO / GENIA SAVILOV) 
38. On April 12, 2006, workers sweep away radioactive dust in front of a sarcophagus covering the damaged 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Because of the high levels of radiation, crews only work for a few minutes. (GENIA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images)
