Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Turn on desktop notifications for breaking news? Israeli soldiers deploy on the Frozen ukrainian brides and Gaza border during a Palestinian protest, Saturday, March 30, 2019.
FILE – In this March 16, 2019 file photo, police detain protesters in Managua, Nicaragua. People march to protest the World Congress of Families, in Verona, Italy, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Central American migrants, part of the caravan hoping to reach the U. People wait for Pope Francis in Rabat, Morocco, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Walking through the site of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. But they still want to see.
I’m standing outside of a preschool, its weedy yard strewn with broken children’s toys. In my pockets is a dosimeter, a device measuring radiation levels, and it rattles with shrill warning beeps as Kryshtal, one of the leaders with Chernobyl Tour, points to a nondescript patch of grass beneath a tree, off to the side of the walkway. A shudder spreads through the group. Goosebumps and tears are frequent during a visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, reactions that come as guides relate the grim history of the area. On April 26, 1986, a safety test at the nuclear power plant went very wrong—a partial meltdown and explosion sent radioactive debris into the air, leading to the immediate, painful deaths of more than 40 first-responders and the prolonged suffering of thousands. I remember the moment I learned about Chernobyl. I was in junior high school: Wikipedia didn’t exist, so I was drawn to a haunting photo in my world history textbook, one that showed the Soviet nuclear facility and infamous reactor number four covered by a hulking cement sarcophagus.
I had learned about sarcophagi before, in chapters on ancient Egypt, but the concept of an entire building entombed was too much. Dosimeters that give you live radiation readings are available to rent. Tourism is a newer industry for this region, only two hours away from Kiev in Ukraine. Pripyat, a town of nearly 50,000 residents hastily evacuated following the accident, is the most surreal stop of the tours, and the most Instagrammed.
It’s all eerily empty structures—everything from a sports stadium and hotel to apartment blocks and supermarkets. The city is a dusty time capsule—a necropolis of broken glass, rotting furniture, and peeling paint. Much of what was left behind has sat undisturbed for 31 years. There are no safety barriers or marked routes for the tours, which is part of the appeal.
