There was something in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster that still holds an atmosphere of secrecy around the exclusion zone. At least that is how ordinary people think so. And the reason for this was, rather, not a meeting with a couple of other zombies at the barbed wire, but a stormy fantasy of science fiction writers. So what is Chernobyl? We will consider interesting facts about this ghost town and other settlements that have fallen into the zone fenced off from the world.
Disaster scale
We will begin to study interesting facts about Chernobyl from the moment of the disaster itself. An estimate of the magnitude of the Chernobyl disaster is estimated, including by the amount of released radioactive material. To represent the consequences of the accident, the amount of radioactive material released is compared with the first use of nuclear weapons.
So, we know that in 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima . The Chernobyl accident released 500 times more destructive mass. The amount of radioactive materials amounted to 50 million curies.
Accident victims
The first victims of radiation were firefighters who went off to extinguish a fire in the fourth reactor without special protection.
Since the station was operating at the time of the accident, there were many people there. 134 of them received radiation sickness while at work the first time after the release. About 30 people died from radiation sickness during the first month. To eliminate the consequences of the accident, 600 thousand people were called up. Many of them received a greater or lesser dose of radiation.
In addition to the liquidators, a huge number of residents of countries whose territories are closest to the current exclusion zone were affected. In total, more than 8.4 million inhabitants were exposed to Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia (then the united USSR). This is the magnitude of the consequences of the disaster. Since then it has become a ghost town of Chernobyl. Interesting facts, which we will talk about later, are amazing.
Routes of Radiation
Although Chernobyl is located on the territory of Ukraine, most of the victims in Belarus. This was due to the direction of the wind at the time of the disaster.
The agricultural lands of Belarus were unsuitable for cultivation. The country had to abandon them, which led to a serious loss in the economy. What other interesting facts about Chernobyl and the entire exclusion zone are known to mankind?
Preserved Hazard
More than 95% of the radioactive material was preserved under the Chernobyl sarcophagus (shelter above the fourth power unit of the nuclear power plant). Given that the widespread consequences of the accident are due to the proliferation of an insignificant part of dangerous substances, the importance of the sarcophagus is excessive.
The construction of a new shelter is already underway. Billions of dollars have been allocated for it. A modern design will be erected over the fourth reactor and an old shelter in the coming year.
Chernobyl nature
For those who do not know what Chernobyl is (the exclusion zone), interesting facts and, possibly, discoveries will be new.
In the imagination of some people, the radiation-irradiated nature of the Chernobyl zone is dead and uninhabited. However, it is not. Vegetation began to regain its rightful territories very soon. Nature is rampant with colors and greens in the summer; it sleeps, as it should be, in the winter season. Such an addition to environmental knowledge has been thrown to us by the current Chernobyl. Interesting photo facts confirm. In our article we have quoted photographs taken recently in the exclusion zone.
The fauna of the zone has expanded significantly. The number of individuals increased. This was especially reflected in the population of wolves, eagles, moose.
The exclusion zone is inhabited!
In our perception, the exclusion zone is a territory forbidden for people. In the case of Chernobyl, this is justified. People were waiting here and are still waiting for radiation hazard, which means that, according to logic, they should not be here. But people live in a restricted area! These are the facts that modern Chernobyl gave us interesting facts.
Those who dare to return home to the fenced off territories, today we call self-propelled. According to 2014 data, about three hundred people live in Chernobyl and the towns and villages belonging to this region. Mostly these are old people who did not want to change their place of residence in 1986.
Unexpected popularity
The exclusion zone around the center of radiation emission has become a place attractive for tourists. According to agencies organizing tours of Chernobyl, Pripyat and other impressive places, the routes are absolutely safe.
The world-famous Forbes publication recognized the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as one of the most unusual places for tourism. According to them, in Chernobyl you can see what is nowhere else in the corners of our planet.
Conclusion
In our article, we turned to such an alarming topic as Chernobyl. Interesting facts and photos presented in it are just a small part of the information about the restricted area, which has been collected bit by bit all these years.
Now we know that swarms of zombies do not go under the blackening trees of Chernobyl. There is beautiful nature and living, in the vast majority absolutely normal animals. Moreover, self-settlers live in the exclusion zone - people who risked staying in their homes away from civilization.
On this note, we are leaving Chernobyl. Interesting facts do not end there, since the visitors themselves create an atmosphere of mystery. It is replenished with graffiti, reflecting the fantasies of people. And there is definitely something sacred in these creations on the street walls. Now it remains to decide whether the city of Chernobyl, Pripyat and other places of the radiation zone are worth visiting, or should they be left, as expected, the exclusion zone.