Just Following Orders: The soldier in the opening clearly does not enjoy having to evict an old Ukrainian woman from her home, but his orders were clear that every single person be evacuated whether they want to leave or not. He finally just kills the cow she's been milking to remove her excuse to stay.
After the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, local residents were forced to permanently evacuate, leaving behind their homes and, in some cases, their pets. Concerned that these abandoned animals might spread disease or contaminate humans, officials tried to exterminate them.
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.
Dogs survive in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for the same reason other species there do. They have a life expectancy under 30 years.
Liquidators wash the radioactive dust off the streets using a product called “bourda”, meaning molasses" and "Helicopters spray the area with dust suppressant.
One firefighter (who later died of radiation poisoning) went on to say the radiation tasted like metal and it felt like pins and needles all over his face.
An estimated 200 tons of radioactive material festers beneath a steel containment structure inside Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear catastrophe in history. Weightless, odorless, and invisible to the human eye, it has leached into the ground and swept across the anguished landscape.
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.
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.
In 1990, around 400 deformed animals were born. Most deformities were so severe the animals only lived a few hours. Examples of defects included facial malformations, extra appendages, abnormal coloring, and reduced size. Domestic animal mutations were most common in cattle and pigs.
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.
Current status. According to a report by the Worldwatch Institute on nuclear waste, Karachay is the most polluted (open-air) place on Earth from a radiological point of view.
The authorities agree that 28 workers lost their lives to acute radiation sickness, while another 106 of the liquidators were treated and survived. But the health toll for the survivors continues to be a matter of debate.
Dogs now occupying the CNPP region are often fed by power plant workers and live in the power plant itself, including the Semikhody train station and the interim used fuel storage facilities (ISF2), which stores spent nuclear fuel.
As host Drew Scanlon explains in the video below, “Visitors are advised not to touch animals in the exclusion zone because they could carry radioactive particles in their fur.”
The explosion of the Chernobyl reactor in 1986 left a large area around the plant uninhabitable by humans because of lingering nuclear radiation. However, animals, like feral dogs, have continued to strive within the area, and new research shows that some Chernobyl animals may be evolving faster than others.
Underneath his portrait, the text reads: “Valery Khodemchuk's body was never recovered. He is permanently entombed under Reactor 4.” Officially, the death toll for the incident is only 31, although it is believed thousands more people have died as a result of long term radiation exposure in the years since.
Alexander Yuvchenko was on duty at Chernobyl's reactor number 4 the night it exploded on 26 April 1986. He is one of the few working there that night to have survived. He suffered serious burns and went through many operations to save his life, and he is still ill from the radiation.
Chernobyl's Dogs Were Abandoned to Die, But What They Taught Us About Radiation Is Fascinating!
Is Chernobyl reactor 4 still burning? Chernobyl reactor 4 is no longer burning. The reactor was originally covered after the disaster, but it resulted in a leak of nuclear waste and needed to be replaced.
When Will Chernobyl Be Safe? With that being said, the most dangerous place to be in Chernobyl is anywhere near the reactor - that area will take at least 20,000 years to disperse as far as radiation breakdown. Many will ask, "then how is it safe for tours to happen at Pripyat?"
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.
The nuclear particles in the air were so strong they started eroding the cameras film causing the image to appear grainy.
The Elephant's Foot is the nickname given to a large mass of corium and other materials formed underneath the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near Pripyat, Ukraine, during the Chernobyl disaster of April 1986, notable for its extreme radioactivity.