accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant happened over 30 years ago. The destruction of the reactor led to a colossal release of radioactive substances into environment. According to official version, 31 people died in the first 3 months, and in subsequent years this figure approached a hundred. There is still debate as to what caused the crash. The consequences of what happened will make themselves felt for many decades, if not hundreds of years. After the accident, a 30-kilometer zone was established, from which almost the entire population was evacuated, and free movement was prohibited. The whole area was frozen in 1986. Today we will look at the 7 most interesting objects in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Today, Pripyat is not such a “dead city” - excursions are regularly organized there, and stalkers walk around. Pripyat is considered a Soviet city-museum under open sky. This abandoned place has retained the energy of the mid-80s, which attracts tourists from all over the world. We will look at a few of the most interesting places this city.
Hotel "Polesie" at one time was calling card Pripyat. It is located in the city center, next to the amusement park, which is perfectly visible from its windows, and observation deck main view well Town Square and the no less famous DK Energetik. It’s more and more dangerous to climb onto the roof every year, because it hasn’t been in for a long time best condition, but visitors to the Zone are drawn to touch huge letters, which is the name of the hotel.
In the hotel building, the headquarters for the elimination of the consequences of the accident was deployed. From the roof of the hotel the 4th power unit is clearly visible, so it was possible to correct the actions of helicopters that extinguished the fire.
In some rooms there are dilapidated interior items. In general, marauders did a good job in Pripyat at one time. They took out equipment, furniture, cut off batteries and took away everything that had at least some value, without even thinking that all this could cause great harm to health.
Paradoxically, even today the hotel accepts tourists, who, of course, do not come there to rent a room. They admire the views of Pripyat, get acquainted with the features of the Soviet apartments and marvel at the trees that grow through the floor.
This artificial reservoir was created to cool the station's reactors. The cooling pond is located on the site of an abandoned quarry, several small lakes and the old bed of the Pripyat River. The depth of this reservoir reaches 20 m. In the middle it is separated by a dam for better circulation of cold and warm water.
Today, the cooling pond is 6 meters above the level of the Pripyat River, and it is costly to maintain such a pond in such a state. Taking into account the fact that the station is no longer working, the water level is gradually reduced, and over time, the reservoir does planned to drain. This causes concern among many, because at the bottom lies a lot of fragments of the reactor of the fourth power unit, highly active fuel cells and radiation dust. However negative consequences can be avoided if the gradual decrease in the water level is correctly calculated so that the bare areas of the bottom have time to acquire vegetation that will prevent the rise of radioactive dust.
By the way, the Chernobyl cooling pond is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Europe.
The state of the pond is constantly monitored in order to assess how its ecosystem has been affected by radiation exposure. The diversity of living creatures, although diminished, did not disappear completely. Today it is quite possible to catch a normal-looking fish in the pond, but it is not recommended to eat it.
DK Energetik
Let's return to the center of Pripyat. On the main square The city is watched by the Energetik Palace of Culture, which, along with the Polesie Hotel, is a must-see.
It is logical to assume that this building concentrated all cultural activities cities. Circles gathered here, concerts and performances were held, and discos were held in the evenings. The building had its own gym, library and cinema. DK was a favorite place for the youth of Pripyat.
Today, you can still find the remains of the marble tiles with which the building was lined, stained-glass windows and mosaics. Despite the devastation, the famous spirit of the Soviet era is still preserved in the building.
City amusement park in Pripyat
Perhaps the most famous attraction of Pripyat is the city amusement park with its Ferris wheel. It is worth noting that this one of the most polluted places in the city, but once in the park, enthusiastic children's voices were heard every now and then.
Cars, swings, carousels, boats and other attributes of an amusement park will never be used for their intended purpose, but among numerous tourists and stalkers they are popular as a kind of attraction.
Ferris wheel managed to become a symbol of the already deserted Pripyat. Interestingly, it was never put into operation. It was supposed to be opened on May 1, 1986, but 5 days before that, there was an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant ...
Chernobyl
Today, for a certain amount of money, you can visit the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself. There you will see how it goes construction of the arch, which should cover the 4th power unit along with the old sarcophagus. In the building of the power plant itself, you can walk along the "golden corridor", get acquainted with the reactor control panel, and also find out how the Chernobyl nuclear power plant worked in general. Ordinary excursions are limited only by the stay of tourists not far from the station.
The arch should cover the message of the 4th power unit Of course, illegal travelers cannot penetrate the heart of the Zone - everything is reliably guarded. However, the station and the erected "Arch" are perfectly visible from the high-rise buildings of Pripyat. Every self-respecting stalker is sure to capture the view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in a photo.
By the way, about 4000 people work at the station now. They are engaged in the construction of the "Arch" and work on the decommissioning of power units.
red forest
This section of the forest, located not far from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, during the accident took over the most a large share radioactive dust, which led to the death of trees and the coloring of their foliage in a brown-red color. It is noteworthy that the enzymes of the trees reacted with radiation, due to which a glow was observed in the forest at night. As part of the decontamination, the Red Forest was demolished and buried. Today, the trees are growing again, of course, already having a normal color.
However, today there are young pines with signs of mutations. This can be expressed in excessive or, conversely, in insufficient branching. Some trees, having reached the age of about 20 years, could not grow above 2 meters. Needles on pines can also look intricate: it can be elongated, shortened, or completely absent.
By the way, the remaining power units were still working for some time. The last one was turned off in 2000.
An unpleasant feeling can develop from burial grounds where demolished trees were buried. Mounds and branches sticking out of the ground evoke more unpleasant associations for many.
Of interest are the remains of unburied trees. This view is a clear indication of how nature can suffer from human activity. This site is perhaps one of the saddest places in the Exclusion Zone.
Arc
The object is represented by a huge complex of antennas. This radar station performed the task of detecting launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our military could see the American missile by actually looking over the horizon. Hence the name "Arc". About 1000 people were needed to ensure the operation of the complex, and therefore a small town was organized for the military and their families. And so it arose object "Chernobyl-2". Before the accident, the plant was used for only a few years, and after that it was abandoned.
Radar antennas are of Soviet engineering. According to some reports, the construction of the Duga cost twice as much as the creation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Western countries were not happy with this setup. They constantly complained that she interfered with work civil aviation. It is interesting that the “Duga” created a characteristic knocking sound on the air, for which it was nicknamed the “Russian woodpecker”.
The height of the antennas reaches 150 m, and the length of the entire building is about 500 m. Due to its impressive size the installation is visible from almost anywhere in the Zone.
Nature is gradually destroying the buildings of the Chernobyl-2 facility. But the Duga itself will remain idle for more than one year, unless, of course, the Ukrainian authorities (or some others) want to use tons of contaminated metal, as happened with the fleet that was involved in the aftermath of the accident ...
Many rufer stalkers, not afraid of the guards that patrol those places, climb as high as possible on one of the antennas and capture the Chernobyl landscapes in the photo.
In the notorious S.T.A.L.K.E.R. there is a so-called "Brain Burner" installation, with which the "Duga" is associated, which further attracts adventurers.
Conclusion
The Chernobyl exclusion zone is undoubtedly a unique place on Earth, a kind of piece Soviet Union in the 21st century. It is very sad that the city of Pripyat was thoroughly plundered by marauders - they could at least not touch the decoration, but no - they even pulled out the wiring. Nevertheless, it is important for the modern generation to treat the Zone not as a tourist site or a place where you can see places from the games, but as a reminder that our scientific achievements can leave scars on the Earth that take centuries to heal.
As a result of a non-nuclear explosion (the root cause of the accident was steam explosion) of the reactor of the 4th unit of the Chernobyl NPP, fuel elements containing nuclear fuel (uranium-235) and radioactive fission products (hundreds of radionuclides, including long-lived) accumulated during the operation of the reactor (up to 3 years) were damaged and depressurized. The release of radioactive materials from the emergency unit of the NPP into the atmosphere consisted of gases, aerosols and fine particles of nuclear fuel. In addition, the ejection lasted a very long time; it was a process extended over time, consisting of several stages.
At the first stage (during the first hours), dispersed fuel was ejected from the destroyed reactor. At the second stage - from April 26 to May 2, 1986. - the emission power has decreased due to the measures taken to stop the combustion of graphite and filter the emission. At the suggestion of physicists, many hundreds of tons of boron, dolomite, sand, clay and lead compounds were dropped into the reactor shaft, this layer of loose mass intensively adsorbed aerosol particles. At the same time, these measures could lead to an increase in the temperature in the reactor and contribute to the release of volatile substances (in particular, cesium isotopes) into the environment. This is a hypothesis, but it was precisely on these days (May 2-5) that a rapid increase in the output of fission products from the reactor and a predominant removal of volatile components, in particular, iodine, were observed. The last, fourth stage, which occurred after May 6, is characterized by a rapid decrease in emissions as a result of specially taken measures, which ultimately made it possible to lower the fuel temperature by filling the reactor with materials that form refractory compounds with fission products.
Radioactive contamination of the natural environment as a result of the accident was determined by the dynamics radioactive emissions and meteorological conditions.
Due to the bizarre pattern of precipitation during the movement of a radioactive cloud, soil and food contamination turned out to be extremely uneven. As a result, three main sources of pollution were formed: the Central, Bryansk-Belarusian and the center in the area of Kaluga, Tula and Orel (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Radioactive contamination of the area with caesium-137 after the Chernobyl disaster (as of 1995).
Significant pollution of the territory outside former USSR occurred only in some regions of the European continent. AT southern hemisphere fallout of radioactivity was not detected.
In 1997, a multi-year European Community project to create an atlas of cesium pollution in Europe was completed after Chernobyl accident. According to estimates made within the framework of this project, the territories of 17 European countries with a total area of 207.5 thousand km 2 were contaminated with cesium with a pollution density of more than 1 Ci/km 2 (37 kBq/m 2) (Table 1).
Table 1. Total pollution European countries 137Cs from the Chernobyl accident.
| Countries | Area, thousand km 2 | Chernobyl fallout | |||
| countries | territories with pollution over 1 Ci/km2 | PBq | kCi | % of total deposition in Europe | |
| Austria | 84 | 11,08 | 0,6 | 42,0 | 2,5 |
| Belarus | 210 | 43,50 | 15,0 | 400,0 | 23,4 |
| United Kingdom | 240 | 0,16 | 0,53 | 14,0 | 0,8 |
| Germany | 350 | 0,32 | 1,2 | 32,0 | 1,9 |
| Greece | 130 | 1,24 | 0,69 | 19,0 | 1,1 |
| Italy | 280 | 1,35 | 0,57 | 15,0 | 0,9 |
| Norway | 320 | 7,18 | 2,0 | 53,0 | 3,1 |
| Poland | 310 | 0,52 | 0,4 | 11,0 | 0,6 |
| Russia ( European part) | 3800 | 59,30 | 19,0 | 520,0 | 29,7 |
| Romania | 240 | 1,20 | 1,5 | 41,0 | 2,3 |
| Slovakia | 49 | 0,02 | 0,18 | 4,7 | 0,3 |
| Slovenia | 20 | 0,61 | 0,33 | 8,9 | 0,5 |
| Ukraine | 600 | 37,63 | 12,0 | 310,0 | 18,8 |
| Finland | 340 | 19,0 | 3,1 | 83,0 | 4,8 |
| Czech Republic | 79 | 0,21 | 0,34 | 9,3 | 0,5 |
| Switzerland | 41 | 0,73 | 0,27 | 7,3 | 0,4 |
| Sweden | 450 | 23,44 | 2,9 | 79,0 | 4,5 |
| Europe as a whole | 9700 | 207,5 | 64,0 | 1700,0 | 100,0 |
| The whole world | 77,0 | 2100,0 | |||
Data on radiation contamination of the territory of Russia as a result of the Chernobyl accident are presented in Table 2.
Table 2.
Radiological hazard of Chernobyl radionuclides
The most dangerous at the time of the accident and for the first time after it in atmospheric air contaminated areas are 131I (Radioactive iodine was intensively accumulated in milk, which led to significant doses of radiation thyroid gland those who drank it, especially children in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Elevated Levels radioactive iodine in milk has also been observed in some other parts of Europe where dairy herds were kept outdoors. The half-life of 131I is 8 days.) and 239Pu, they have the highest relative hazard index. This is followed by the remaining isotopes of plutonium, 241Am, 242Cm, 137Ce, and 106Ru (decades after the accident). The greatest danger in natural waters represent 131I (in the first weeks and months after the accident) and a group of long-lived radionuclides of cesium, strontium and ruthenium.
Plutonium-239. It is dangerous only when inhaled. As a result of deepening processes, the possibility of wind uplift and transfer of radionuclides has decreased by several orders of magnitude and will continue to decrease. Therefore, Chernobyl plutonium will be present in the environment for an infinitely long time (the half-life of plutonium-239 is 24.4 thousand years), but its ecological role will be close to zero.
Cesium-137. This radionuclide is absorbed by plants and animals. His presence in food chains will steadily decrease due to the processes of physical decay, penetration to a depth inaccessible to plant roots, and chemical binding by soil minerals. The half-life of Chernobyl cesium will be about 30 years. It should be noted that this does not apply to the behavior of cesium in the forest litter, where the situation is to some extent conserved. The decrease in pollution of mushrooms, wild berries and game is still almost imperceptible - it is only 2-3% per year. Cesium isotopes are actively involved in metabolism and compete with K ions.
Strontium-90. It is somewhat more mobile than cesium, with a half-life of strontium of about 29 years. Strontium is poorly involved in metabolic reactions, accumulates in bones, and has low toxicity.
Americium-241 (the decay product of plutonium-241 - the emitter) is the only radionuclide in the zone of contamination from the Chernobyl accident, the concentration of which is increasing and will reach maximum values in 50-70 years, when its concentration on the earth's surface will increase by almost ten times.
Vladimir Yavorivsky, people's deputy, head of the Temporary Deputy Commission to Investigate the Causes and Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident:
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant remains dangerous, even very dangerous. I explain why. First, there are still about 800 unburied temporary storage facilities in the Chernobyl zone that have already existed for 28 years. This is equipment contaminated with high levels of radiation, abandoned sand or swamp pits. They radiate high level radiation.
Second. There is the problem of the so-called "red forest", which grew near the reactor itself. It is called red because all these pines changed color under the influence of radiation after the disaster.
The new confinement will solve the problem of radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but it will remain for posterity
Well, the third problem is the confinement itself, which closes the fourth reactor. It is designed for a period that has long since ended. Now they are preparing the second skin around this hidden reactor. It is very heavy, it is a colossal weight, thousands of tons of concrete, and nuclear power station built in an exceptionally criminal place, on the swampy soils of Polissya, very close to groundwater. And this possible subsidence is very dangerous, because surface water can penetrate into the main underground layers of water.
I'm not talking about the self-settlers who live there, about this thirty-kilometer zone itself with polluted meadows and waters.
Of course, the danger remains. You know that there was even an overclocking of the reactor. Little was said about him then, it was still in Soviet times. That is, a chain reaction began in the fourth reactor when water got there. This sarcophagus itself is not airtight. Water, snow, and so on got there, and acceleration began chain reaction. It's good that it was noticed in time and simply extinguished.
Well, the sarcophagus itself is dangerous, it still emits radiation. And there is not established the amount of nuclear fuel that is left.
The new confinement will solve the problem of radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but it will remain for posterity.
I am not a specialist in the nuclear industry, but it seems to me that building a waste storage facility would be the most the best option. We have already lost Pripyat, no one will return there in the coming centuries. Therefore, it is logical to build a repository there, and not pollute some other place. But let the scientists decide.
But storage is a must. We have so much nuclear waste! All those capsules with fuel that were in the fourth reactor, and which remained, were removed from there and placed in a nuclear waste storage facility. In the same way, from other reactors, all this needs to be hidden somewhere.
(4
ratings, average: 5,00
out of 5)
Finds in state institutions of Pripyat
After extinguishing the fire from the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the liquidators filled with heroism worked for a very long time to eliminate the consequences of the accident. The radius of destruction from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has reached even North America and Japan.
Helicopter over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
The primary tasks assigned to the professionals were the decontamination of Pripyat and the cleaning of radioactive dust that had settled on the roofs of houses and preserved the integrity of the nuclear power plants.
After the accident, the people of Pripyat for the first time began to realize the full danger of "radiation" - an enemy that cannot be seen.
Elimination of the consequences was quite difficult. After all, they had to look for special methods in the fight against radiation, deadly elements and dust that had settled throughout the district. Then the helicopters took over.
Fire Department of Pripyat
During each flight, and there were 5-6 such flights per shift, it was necessary to drain tons of PVA glue onto the roofs of power units. Such dust cannot be removed with a vacuum cleaner or a broom. That is why a helicopter with glue was urgently needed for the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. After hardening, the glue was cut, rolled up and sent for destruction.
Mi-8, Mi-24, Mi-26 and Mi-6 helicopters carried out an important mission to collect radiation dust.
Eliminating the consequences of what happened on April 26, people risked their lives. First of all, it struck the liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant radiation sickness. However, at that time, none of these heroes thought of themselves, engaging in battle with an invisible enemy.
The moment of the helicopter crash over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Helicopter crash at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Each of the liquidators took what they were doing very seriously. But no one even suspected that after the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, another one could happen.
After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 15 regions of Russia, zones of caesium-137 contamination with a level above 1 Ci/km2 were formed, with a total area of about 55.1 thousand km2. These are Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Leningrad, Oryol, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Penza, Smolensk, Ulyanovsk region and Republic of Mordovia.
By impact on natural environment the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can be considered as a minor nuclear war. Hundreds of thousands of hectares and lands, an extensive network water sources, in fact, was permanently disabled.
Territories contaminated with cesium-137 with levels above 5 Ci/km2 are located in the Bryansk, Tula, Kaluga and Oryol regions. Them total area is almost 7900 km2. AT Bryansk region there are territories with pollution levels of more than 15 and 40 Ci/km2, their area is 2130 and 310 km2, respectively.
In most of the territory of Russia, the dose rate of gamma radiation varies between 10-20 microR/h. and the zone of increased radioactivity occupies an area of about 4 thousand km2 and is located in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions. The content of caesium-137 in the soils of this zone is more than 1 Ci/km2 and higher. Pollution is the result emergencies 1949, 1957 and 1967, as well as the production activities of the Mayak plant. Gamma radiation here is about 60 microR/h.
As for the test site nuclear weapons on Novaya Zemlya and adjacent territories Far North, then the situation is as follows. Middle level pollution of the earth's surface here is the highest relative to the entire Arctic and exceeds the values typical for Alaska and about 2-3 times. Directly in the nuclear weapons testing zone, the power of gamma radiation currently reaches tens and hundreds of micro-roentgens per hour, but these zones have the status of sanitary protection zones.
main sources radioactive contamination in Russia the following:
1. Enterprises for the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons (Arzamas-16, 40, Krasnoyarsk-45, Tomsk-7, etc.).
2. Operating 11 nuclear power plants, which provide only about 12% of the electricity consumed in Russia (31 power reactors operate in Russia and 6 reactors continue to be built).
3. Nuclear icebreakers (there are 7 of them).
4. Landfills for burial radioactive waste(there are 15 of them). Waste comes not only from Russia, but also from other countries where enterprises have been built according to our technology that use radioactive substances.
5. Research institutes and laboratories using fissile material.
6. Polygons for nuclear testing. The first tests of nuclear weapons were carried out in the northern Caspian region, then a new test site was chosen - on Novaya Zemlya - 280 km from Amderma, 440 km from Naryan-Mar, 560 km from Vorkuta, 900 km from Murmansk and 1000 km from Arkhangelsk. Air, ground, underwater, and then underground tests were carried out at the Novaya Zemlya test site.
The main role in irradiating the population two years after nuclear tests is played by: carbon-14, cesium-137, zirconium-95, strontium-90 and some other elements.
During tests, radionuclides partially fall out near the explosion site, some of them are retained in the troposphere and moved by air currents over long distances. They are in the troposphere for about a month, gradually falling to the ground. The main part of the radionuclides is released into the stratosphere, to a height of 10 km above sea level, where they linger for long time, falling very slowly to the surface of the Earth.
7. Nuclear accidents. In the Northern Urals, near the city of Kyshtym, in 1957 there was an explosion at the Mayak military nuclear plant, a fire at the Beloyarsk NPP in 1978, accidents at the Leningrad NPP in 1978 and the Chernobyl NPP in 1986.
Thus, on the territory of Russia there are regions with a high content of radioactive substances that have changed, and water bodies, animals and plants have accumulated these substances that have a pathogenic and mutagenic effect on them.
