Chernobyl is located in the Kiev region on the territory of the Ivankovsky district. Before the Chernobyl accident in 1986, more than 12,000 people lived in this city. Chernobyl is located 9.5 kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
How to get to Chernobyl
A thirty-kilometer exclusion zone has been created around the city, where the content of radionuclides in the air and waters of the Pripyat River is regularly monitored. The borders of this zone are guarded by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to prevent illegal entry of people into contaminated lands. Mainly curious travelers who are interested in looking at the abandoned city try to get to Chernobyl. It is worth noting that especially curious people achieve their goal by finding ways to get into the city, since there are checkpoints only on roads and waterways. Self-organized excursions to Chernobyl and Pripyat are very popular among fans of unusual tourism. But during such excursions it is recommended to have a dosimeter with you.
You can also try to get into the city by legal means, having issued a special permit to visit it. The internal affairs bodies of Ukraine are engaged in the issuance of permits, which must be contacted no later than ten days before the expected date of the excursion to Chernobyl. In addition to permits, legal visitors receive safety instructions and tour the city accompanied by a security officer.
Ecological situation and life in the city
More than 25 years have passed since the accident at the nuclear power plant, so the radiation background in the city has already dropped below the critical level. Liquidators of the consequences of the accident, dosimetrists, employees of the Ministry of Emergencies and guards of the exclusion zone temporarily live in it.
However, permanent residence and economic activities are prohibited on the territory of Chernobyl. Despite this, people live in the city, the so-called self-settlers who lived there before the accident and decided to return to their homeland despite the ban of the authorities and environmentalists. Basically, self-settlers live in private houses, they run a fast household that allows them to provide themselves with food.
In Chernobyl, a museum has even been created for equipment involved in the elimination of the consequences of the accident at the nuclear power plant. The museum is an open-air exhibition.
Safety regulations
Everyone who decided to visit Chernobyl should follow the rules of conduct in the exclusion zone. It is forbidden to drink water from wells and rivers in this city. In the vicinity of Chernobyl, it is prohibited to hunt, fish, pick mushrooms and berries. And when visiting various man-made objects and abandoned houses, it is forbidden to pick up any items with a failure as souvenirs.
