What will happen if you come to live at Chernobyl 'Dead Land' now?

What is the area where the largest nuclear disaster occurred in history? Is it possible to live there?

Birthplace "dead land"

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl reactor No. 4 suddenly exploded, causing the event to be evaluated as "the most serious nuclear disaster in human history".

The explosion pushed into the air a column of radioactive toxins, spreading to many surrounding areas, heading towards Belarus and some parts of the United Kingdom. It is estimated that more than 116,000 people had to evacuate almost immediately, and a total of 250,000 people in the surrounding areas had to move. The entire 30km around Chernobyl factory was later quarantined, becoming "dead land".

Historical documents show that 31 workers came to clean up the ruins of the disaster that died from radioactive contamination. According to data from WHO, at least 4,000 people have died from the effects of radiation in the following years, and that is only estimates.

Chernobyl the most serious nuclear disaster in human history.

Calling Chernobyl is the most serious radiation disaster in history not only because of its consequences, but also from scientific figures. According to WEF (World Economic Forum), the amount of radiation in this disaster is 400 times greater than the atomic bomb Little Boy that America dropped on Hiroshima (Japan) during World War II.

"Radiation exposure, reddened skin, burning is what happened, but never mentioned" - quoted Oleksiy Breus, an engineer who was at the scene only a few hours after the disaster. .

"At the end of my shift, my skin turns brown, like a tanned body. Parts that are not covered with protective clothing - face, neck, hands . are red. ".

Dead land becomes a tourist attraction, but is there any danger?

But that's what happened 33 years ago. At the present time, Chernobyl suddenly became a very attractive place for visitors. Curious passengers and hot Instagramers have come here to witness the beauty of a tragic, mysterious and extremely suitable historical event for . taking photos. There are at least 2 old hotels here for visitors to rest comfortably, while the Ukrainian government also began planning to turn Chernobyl into a potential tourist destination.

Tour groups visited Chernobyl.

So what will happen to those who visit this "dead land" ? In fact, no bad consequences will happen immediately to the health of visitors - according to Jim Smith, an environmental professor at Portsmouth University. Although some locations still have sea isolation (such as the Red Forest and the factory itself), most areas do not have much radioactivity, with concentrations only equal to natural levels.

"In nature there is also radioactivity, and different concentrations around the world. If you live in high latitudes, you will be more likely to receive radiation from the universe," Smith said.

"At Chernobyl, most of the surrounding areas have radioactivity equivalent to many other normal areas in the world ."

In nature there is also radioactivity, and different concentrations worldwide.

More specifically, we will come with some calculations published by the BBC. In 1986, the first people to clean up the explosion site had to endure a radioactive stream of concentration of about 160,000 - 800,000 microsievert (µSv). This is a very high number, enough to cause an immediate poisoning reaction such as vomiting, internal bleeding and causing the victim to die after a few weeks.

At the present time, the concentration is only about 1,000 µSv , even lower than the amount of radiation you have to receive when taking X-rays (about 10,000 µSv).

However, it is not the same in Chernobyl. There are many hot spots still possessing extremely high levels of radioactivity. For example, if you live in Red Forest, you will experience a stream of radioactivity accumulating about 350,000 µSv each year.

"This number is not enough to kill people. But if you live there, this amount of radiation can cause cancer over time," Smith said. He also predicted that it would take at least 300 years for radiation levels to return to normal.

It takes at least 300 years, the concentration of radiation here is just normal.

In addition, the problem is not only in concentration, but also what kind of radiation is there . At the time of the explosion, more than 100 types of radioactive materials were blown into the air, but fortunately most of them had very fast decay rates. Iodine-131, for example, is one of the most toxic substances that can cause thyroid cancer, but in return, the half-life is only within 8 days.

Most cases of thyroid cancer associated with Chernobyl (about 5000 cases) were exposed to high concentrations of Iodine-131 . It seeps into the water, enters the food chain, poisones the soil and makes surrounding organisms weaken quickly.

Although Iodine-131 has completely disappeared, some other radioactive materials such as strontium-90 and cesium-137 have a half-life of up to 30 years. In other words after 33 years from the day of the disaster, these types of radiation are still very much at Chernobyl.

The most special is the Plutonium-239 isotope , with a half-life of up to 24,000 years. Fortunately, according to Smith, this type of radiation is less likely to invade living organisms.

In short, if you want to live in the "dead land" Chernobyl at the present time, it is likely that nothing bad will happen. In fact, there are people who live here. According to statistics in 2000, about 200 people are still living in the quarantined area before but it is okay.