Site Records

Site Name: Chernobyl

Sub Brit site visit 1.6.2006 & 12.4.2007

During the difficult and dangerous construction, the major load-bearing beams of the Shelter-Object were placed directly on the remains of the reactor hall. After two decades, the western wall began to be forced off the vertical by the weight of the roof and it was shored up. The building is monitored very closely, as any collapse of material into the remains of the reactor could create a radioactive dust cloud creating more contamination.

Posters prepared for the May Day parade in Pripyat - Photo by Nick Catford  (click to enlarge)

Pripyat had been preparing for the May Day parade, one of the most important events in the socialist calendar and people were collectively in high spirits. As the town woke up on 26 April, most people continued their activities as normal. Word got around that there had been an accident at the power station, but the official line was that it was nothing to worry about and only those whose relatives were involved became anxious. Children went to school as normal. However, the gravity of the situation soon became apparent and on 27 April, as the helicopters

THE SITE TODAY
The 30-kilometre and 10-kilometre exclusion zones remain in place, as does another around the town of Pripyat. A permit is required to enter the 30-kilometre zone; organised trips will obtain the necessary documents for visitors.

The area around Chernobyl is very flat, being a part of the Pripyat Marshes and gradually becomes forested. A series of derelict electricity pylons, most missing their cables, lead into the forest towards the power station.

The town of Chernobyl is inhabited workers in the area, on a fortnight-on, fortnight-off basis. The flats are maintained and there is a small shop with basic supplies. Near to this shop is the firemen's memorial. This is notably naturalistic, in contrast with the formal style of most Soviet statuary and is an ‘unofficial’ monument; it was designed and erected by the firemen themselves and is not maintained by the state. It depicts a scene from the first hours after the accident, showing eight workers around a model of Unit 4 in the process of fighting the fire, one already succumbing to radiation sickness.

Entering Chernobyl town - Photo by Jane MacGregor

Photo:The 'unofficial' monument depicting the first hours after the accident
Photo by Jane MacGregor

Between Chernobyl and the power station are the remains of a few of the small settlements. Some buildings remain, including a little kindergarten, but many others were bulldozed and buried at the time; small mounds with signs warning of contamination are the only traces of some of these houses. The area has always been forested and the power station's chimneys are only just visible in the trees.

The power station itself is well-maintained. A small conventional power station has been built next to it. Visitors are driven around the perimeter road and close to Units 5 and 6, with a semi-constructed cooling tower nearby, and then along the line of the main buildings to the information office a few hundred metres away from Units 3 and 4.

This affords an excellent view of the Shelter-Object, especially the recently-strengthened western wall. The information office has some interesting films about the clear-up operations at the site, and a spectacular model of the fourth unit. This model took six months to construct; the real Shelter-Object took seven months and is incredibly detailed, showing the damage to the inside of the reactor hall, the precariously balanced upper shield nicknamed ‘Ylena’ and the fuel containing material (the term given to the meltdown lava) in its correct relative position. Photography inside the exhibition is not permitted. Outside is an official commemorative monument to those who constructed the Shelter-Object.

Monument to the people who constructed the Shelter-Object. Photo by Jane MacGregor

Click here for further information and pictures of Chernobyl

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