Thirty-five years after the disaster, the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986 still closed, given that the danger of nuclear contamination is always present. But the Ukrainian authorities are increasingly determined to transform that nightmare into a cultural, tourist and above all economic resource. So much so that they are working to be able to ask to include Chernobyl among the areas declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Like the Dolomites. It would seem a strange idea, were it not for the absolute dedication of all the leaders of the country, starting with President Zelensky, convinced that the exclusion zone could become a major attraction.
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The Chernobyl disaster, 35 years later: the images
When the new sarcophagus created to cover the fourth reactor was inaugurated 35 years ago you threw immense quantities of radioactive elements into the sky, Zelensky appeared enthusiastic: time to stop frightening people; it is necessary to transform the place into a scientific and tourist magnet. We will create here the land of freedom which will become one of the symbols of the new Ukraine. The area with a radius of thirty kilometers around the officially uninhabited power plant, even if a few hundred of the old inhabitants continue to live in the woods. The remains of several villages and cities are part of the exclusion zone, including Prypiat and a colossal military radar.
For five years, Ukraine has created a nature reserve, first step to start the practice in front of Unesco. In the area, thanks to the evacuation of the inhabitants, animals have proliferated in recent years, including bears, wolves, moose and an endangered breed of horses that was introduced into the woods around the plant. Now we are also thinking about the rare European bison. Thanks also to the success of the television series about the aftermath of the 1986 disaster, the number of tourists admitted to the area for officially organized visits with short duration has multiplied, precisely because of the dangers associated with contamination. Tourist agencies also organize flights over the power station and over Prypiat. In 2019, the last before Covid, there were 120,000 visitors.
Some paths have been treated precisely to allow the passage of tourists, but the rest of the land, the trees and all the plants are still dangerous and they will be for a very long time, with emissions of cesium, strontium, plutonium and other substances. Children under the age of 18 are excluded from the visits, precisely because they are more exposed to the danger deriving from radiation. The area is also used to store spent fuel from the four Ukrainian nuclear power plants in operation. In addition, last year a very violent fire that hit more than eleven thousand hectares of forest released cesium particles throughout the area, causing radioactivity to rise up to 16 times higher than the natural one. In conclusion, not really a tourist paradisedespite the hopes of Kiev.
April 26, 2021 (change April 26, 2021 | 15:02)
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