30 Years after Chernobyl — And Life Goes On
It is the 30th anniversary of the disaster at the Ukrainian power plant in Chernobyl.
Back then, people left behind their lives. Nothing would be as before and there was this big uncertainty, fear. What to do to stay safe against radiation, against cancer? Nobody, no government could foresee or guarantee anything. The Soviet government’s policies even favored not making the accident news for three days. No safety measures for the time of the highest radiation exposure. Why take this risk? Sadly, probably to keep people calm. Actually, this seems similar to how Japan has been ‘careful’ with the news about the accident in Fukushima, a current reminder of if it happens, humanity is powerless.
Many countries make use of nuclear power plants. Chernobyl has showed us that in case of accidents, radiation spreads far across country borders, up to Scandinavia. Anyone can be affected just like the Ukrainian people. This awareness, fear is what gives young people like me who were born much later and far from the event an emotional connection to the disaster.
Living right next to Chernobyl
But against all odds, today young people of Slavutych, a town 50 km near to Chernobyl built for disaster evacuees, live and work close to a place I would never consider visiting. A photo gallery: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/24/world/cnnphotos-chernobyl-youth/index.html
What about radiation levels? In the regions off the plant they are lower than one might imagine, except deeper in the ground or in plants which save radiation. A day in Chernobyl exposes your body to less radiation than a transatlantic flight- which is small compared to the radiation a smoker’s lungs are exposed to over one year : compare 2 Millisievert to 160. One banana’s potassium radiation for scale: 0.0001 Millisievert .
Undisturbed Wildlife
Wildlife is thriving strongly without human influence– a refuge for nature after humans caused contamination. Wolves, moose, bears, bison , endangered wild Przewalski’s horses and many other species are populating in nature untouched from poaching or deforestation.
While they do have higher radiation levels in their bodies, scientists say there are no visible mutations which one might expect. It seems like a little miracle. Good news?
Life goes on
The people of Slavutych aren’t the only ones close to the radiation source. Daily, 3000 workers commute to the old factory to tidy things up. Radioactive rubbish. Then, lunch. Everything seems normal.
Surely the radiation causes some damage to the DNA over time and exposure, but it is no longer instantly deadly to linger around. Still, the place seems too eerie and risky- to me. Others seem to think differently, there is a tourism branch for thousands of curious visitors yearly.
A new safe confinement arch to cover the old reactor is being built to seal it, the plan is to do so by 2017. It is planned to stop any radioactive pollution- for a 100 years.
Possibly more and more people will consider moving closer to the exclusion zone. Radiation might be a deadly thing, but humans and animals are resilient beings.
