Chernobyl Becoming a Tourist Destination Next Year

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Chernobyl Becoming a Tourist Destination Next Year

Ever wanted to visit the site of one of the greatest technological tragedies in history? Start booking your calendars for 2011.

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the city of Pripyat, Ukraine suffered a catastrophic accident [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster] when the No. 4 reactor gave up the ghost and burst, showering the region with poisonous fallout. As a result of the incident, an estimated 4,000 people died and a staggering 350,400 were evacuated (as of 2000 estimates).

It also provided us with some oppressively atmospheric settings ever in a videogame [http://villageofjoy.com/chernobyl-today-a-creepy-story-told-in-pictures/], but that's beside the point.

While 2,500 technicians maintain the irradiated remains of Chernobyl, the entire area is virtually a ghost city (with good reason). However, if you still want to visit one of the most eerie and potentially medically dangerous places in the world, the Ukrainian government will be officially opening Chernobyl up to tourism next year [http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20101214/ap_on_sc/eu_ukraine_chernobyl_tourism.html] - a quarter-century after the original accident - said government representatives.

Though Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova did not give an exact date for tours to begin, she said that experts were devising routes that would not just be historically accurate and informative for Ukrainians and foreigners alike, but that the routes would minimize exposure to dangerous radiation. That's good to know. "There are things to see there if one follows the official route and doesn't stray away from the group," Yershova told the AP. "Though it is a very sad story."

The United Nations Development Program chief Helen Clark supported the Ukrainian plan both on the grounds that it would raise money for the region and teach the world about nuclear safety. "Personally I think there is an opportunity to tell a story here and of course the process of telling a story, even a sad story, is something that is positive in economic terms and positive in conveying very important messages," said Clark in a statement.

Ukrainian officials also say that the project to build a new, safer shell for the remnants of the destroyed reactor will be completed by 2015. The new structure will weigh 20,000 tons and will be large enough to contain the Statue of Liberty or Notre Dame Cathedral. Man, I hope they get pictures of that thing being put into place.

So, who's going to Chernobyl? Raise your hands.

(The AP, via Yahoo [http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20101214/ap_on_sc/eu_ukraine_chernobyl_tourism.html])

(Image [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Chernobyl_taken_from_Pripyat.JPG])

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cabalistics

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May 4, 2009
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I'd like to go there. It's like a timecapsule of communism from the 80's although I would be a little worried about radiation I think you can take some very basic precautions like not eating or drinking and maybe wear a mouth mask to avoid breathing the air
 

crotalidian

and Now My Watch Begins
Sep 8, 2009
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I'd go.

Most of the area is safe now and some people never moved beyond the orignal exclusion zone. I also saw an environmental show earlier this year saying that the direct death toll was much lower than expected and even the Cancer and 'radiation related' deaths may be significantly lower as they never accounted for baseline numbers.

As someone who found some Eastern European Cities creepy already this may give me the chills but I would love to see the site of one of the greatest accidents in science and engineering. not to mention the Communist time capsule
 

Grayjack

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Jan 22, 2009
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I would definitely go. I just hope that we're attacked by zombies. Zombies + Chernobyl = Awesome.
 

Firetaffer

Senior Member
May 9, 2010
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I want to go there before I die :D. Be a once in a life time opportunity. So long as I don't turn into a bloodsucker it's all good.
 

SomeBoredGuy

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Nov 18, 2009
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I wonder whether they'll let me start up a branch of Duty there, seeing how you can now legally visit it.
 

Swaki

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Apr 15, 2009
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follow the group? so they can make me feel bad about wanting to walk around and narrated myself, no thanks.

it does sound really interesting and a plain ticket down there is surprisingly cheap, so unless they charge to much for renting a radiation suit i might take a friday and monday off and go see something unique.

edit: wow, the travel time really depends on which airline you choose, it varies from 2 hours to 19 hours and surprisingly enough the cheaper airlines are the fastest, i can get there and back again in 4 hours for 1/5th of i where to fly and wait around in airports for the connecting plain for 2 days.
 

someotherguy

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Nov 15, 2009
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Swaki said:
follow the group? so they can make me feel bad about wanting to walk around and narrated myself, no thanks.

it does sound really interesting and a plain ticket down there is surprisingly cheap, so unless they charge to much for renting a radiation suit i might take a friday and monday off and go see something unique
Radiation suit? Blasphemy. We ain't no fancy hazmat people. T-shirt and shorts are the dress code.
 

JeKaWo

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Jan 2, 2009
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tryx3 said:
I'll go after they put a new cover over the original reactor. Think they said thats 2015. Then, i'd consider it.
yeah, same here, the thing about a leaking nuclear reactor is that it probably causes a bit of an annoyance on the skin or something worse.
 

killamanhunter

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Mar 24, 2009
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I feel like following the tour and playing this on a loop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk-rrG4jAZ8&feature=related
 

Krakyn

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Mar 3, 2009
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I am most definitely going. It's my chance to live out my Fallout fantasies.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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I'd love to visit. Quite the place that Chernobyl.

Not much else is such a large example of human error.