It is the world’s largest ghost town, left to nature and ruin. Pripyat, the town built next to the plant, was intended to be a symbol of Soviet strength. The test called for a gradual power decrease in reactor No. Today, it’s merely the Chernobyl exclusion zone, long since abandoned, tragically full of past relics. Some elderly people from the area have moved back home. But the area is so large that it is possible to sneak by the authorities (not advisable! What is Chernobyl like today? Today, Reactor #4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is encased in a sarcophagus to help contain radioactive material. After a day of poor communication and failed cover-ups, officials began evacuating the city around it. Pripyat, the town forged next to the nuclear plant, was meant to be a model nuclear city, a testament to Soviet strength and ingenuity. Problems started early on April 25, 1986. YOU CAN STAY THERE ... Hotel Chernobyl. The day-shift planned a routine test as part of a reactor shut down. But though Chernobyl symbolises the potential devastation of nuclear power, Russia never quite moved beyond its legacy—or its technology. At the time of the explosion, it held 192 tonnes of uranium nuclear fuel. Today, Chernobyl beckons to tourists who are intrigued by its history and its danger. Figure 1. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'positivenegativeimpact_com-box-3','ezslot_9',106,'0','0'])); With construction beginning in 1970, Chernobyl was the third Soviet RBMK nuclear plant and the first on Ukrainian soil. If things had gone to plan, the night shift would have only had to monitor the after-effects of the initial test. On 26 April 1986, a radioactive release 10 times bigger than the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power station inside the then Soviet Union. A doll in the ruins of a kindergarten in Pripyat – Gleb Garanich/ReutersAbandoned Interior of a building in Pripyat – Gleb Garanich/ReutersAn abandoned amusement park in Pripyat – Gleb Garanich/ReutersAn abandoned grocery store in PripyatA cat near the amusement park by Pripyat – Gleb Garanich/ReutersAbandoned gym in PripyatEmpty pool in PripyatAbandoned Football field in PripyatGleb Garanich/ReutersA radiation-warning sign near checkpoint “Maidan” – Sergei Grits / APBear graffiti in Pripyat -Brendan Hoffman/Getty ImagesDavid McMillanPripyat central square – Efrem LukatskyAbandoned Hallway Pripyat – Efrem LukatskyA tree growing out an abandoned bard in Krasnoselie, Belarus – Vasily Fedosenko / ReutersView of Pripyat – Gleb Garanich / ReutersAn abandoned building near Kpachi – Sergei Supinsky / AFP / GettyFormer Soviet DUGA Radar station – Sun Shine / ShutterstockOverturned Barge in the Pripyat river – Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesStray puppies near Chernobyl – Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesAriel view of a hammer sickle on top of an abandoned building – Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesNature reclaiming a building – David McMillanDavid McMillanA grown over basketball hoop – David McMillanDavid McMillanDavid McMillanAbandoned rowboat – David McMillanDavid McMillanToys left behind – David McMillanDavid McMillan. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is a mostly-off-limits area covering over 1,600 square miles around the accident. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR. Fires are still blazing near the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. The damaged reactor was initially covered in a giant concrete sarcophagus, to stop more radioactive material escaping. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. Impact and History. Out of four reactors in total, one exploded, setting off an irreversible chain of events that prompted the evacuation of roughly 350,000 total by the time the size of the exclusion zone was recognized. Name for the next time I comment, a near shutdown state content is currently not available in your.... 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