More than 30 years on, scientists estimate the zone around the former plant will not be habitable for up to 20,000 years. The disaster took place near the city of Chernobyl in the former USSR, which invested heavily in nuclear power after World War II.
It is thought that the reactor site will not become habitable again for at least 20,000 years, according to a 2016 report.
How long can you stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? There are two exclusion zones in Chernobyl; a 10km inner and 30km outer Exclusion Zone. It is safe to stay in the outer Exclusion Zone overnight.
Yes, the area surrounding Chernobyl remains radioactive. Referred to as the "exclusion zone," this 20-mile radius around the plant has largely been evacuated and is closed to human habitation. Despite government prohibitions, some residents have returned their homes.
The first was that the explosion at Chernobyl happened on the ground, whereas the explosion at Hiroshima happened high in the air above the city, which greatly reduced the radioactive levels. The second difference was the strength of the explosions.
1. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Japan is one of the world's most radioactive places. Fukushima is still highly radioactive today.
Chernobyl animals are mutants ...
Scientists have noted significant genetic changes in organisms affected by the disaster: According to a 2011 study in Biological Conservation, Chernobyl-caused genetic mutations in plants and animals increased by a factor of 20.
Nearly 40 years later, hundreds of stray dogs roam inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), an area encompassing some 1,000 square miles around the power plant where access is restricted due to radioactive and chemical fallout from the disaster.
The radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki today is on a par with the extremely low levels of background radiation (natural radioactivity) present anywhere on Earth. It has no effect on human bodies.
Nearly 40 years after the disaster, visitors can visit Chernobyl if permitting and safety restrictions are closely followed. The most dangerous threat when visiting Chernobyl is the potential for radiation sickness. While the risk of exposure is within acceptable levels, the risk never completely disappears.
Some residents of the exclusion zone have returned to their homes at their own free will, and they live in areas with higher than normal environmental radiation levels. However, these levels are not fatal.
According to the official, internationally recognised death toll, just 31 people died as an immediate result of Chernobyl while the UN estimates that only 50 deaths can be directly attributed to the disaster. In 2005, it predicted a further 4,000 might eventually die as a result of the radiation exposure.
Nuclear fuel was moved to a storage facility in the first stage, which was completed in 2013. All the reactors will be deactivated in the second stage, which will be completed by 2025.
Chernobyl had a higher death toll than Fukushima
While evaluating the human cost of a nuclear disaster is a difficult task, the scientific consensus is that Chernobyl outranks its counterparts as the most damaging nuclear accident the world has ever seen.
The official death toll directly attributed to Chernobyl that is recognized by the international community is just 31 people with the UN saying it could be 50. However, hundreds of thousands of “liquidators” were sent in to put out the fire at the nuclear power plant and clean up the Chernobyl site afterwards.
There has been a 200% increase in birth defects and a 250% increase in congenital birth deformities in children born in the Chernobyl fallout area since 1986. In Belarus, 85% of children are deemed to be Chernobyl victims with genetic changes.
Although it is technically forbidden for humans to live there, many other creatures have made it their home. Within the Chernobyl disaster region, grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, buffalo, deer, elk, beavers, foxes, beavers, wild boar, raccoons, dogs, and over 200 species of birds have developed their own ecosystem.
Most of those former pets died as radiation ripped through the region and emergency workers culled the animals they feared would ferry toxic atoms about. Some, though, survived. Those dogs trekked into the camps of liquidators to beg for scraps; they nosed into empty buildings and found safe places to sleep.
Chernobyl Tours: Cost & Practicalities for Visiting Chernobyl Today. For foreign tourists, the only practical way to visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone is as part of a guided Chernobyl tours from Kyiv. The tours leave from central Kyiv and can be pricey: The Chernobyl tour cost is between $100-$300 per person.
The majority of remaining pets and stray dogs were killed by Soviet soldiers due to concerns that they'd spread the radiation. However, it's believed that some dogs survived, and still others have repopulated the area over the last 37 years since the Chernobyl disaster.
A decade later, the U.S. Department of Energy's International Nuclear Safety Project, which collected hundreds of pictures of Chernobyl, obtained several images of the Elephant's Foot, which was estimated to weigh 2.2 tons (2 metric tons).
A new book investigates the toxic legacy of Hanford, the Washington state facility that produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. The most polluted place in the United States — perhaps the world — is one most people don't even know. Hanford Nuclear Site sits in the flat lands of eastern Washington.
Hanford, Washington – USA
The plutonium plant in Hanford is now decommissioned, but (see half-life numbers above) it currently contains roughly two-thirds of our nation's highly radioactive waste – in both solid and liquid forms.
Alaska has the highest radon levels of 10.7 pCi/L. Homeowners in Alaska are encouraged to test for radon every two years.