Radioactive tourism is growing | Chronic

By Jimena Golender

33 years after the biggest nuclear disaster that caused thousands of deaths and contaminated large areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, the rage provoked by the new mini-series chronicling the horrors of the tragedy has made the area one of the attractions requested for the next European summer.

As in the city of Dubrovnik (Croatia), where was shot the series "Game of Thrones", whose global success has led to a significant increase in the number of visitors; The American and British co-productions have attracted interest for Chernobyl and tour operators who have made excursions to the region have reported an increase in their reserves from 30% to 40%.

Until December 2010, the so-called exclusion zone was only accessible to authorized personnel: scientists, doctors and, occasionally, a journalist. Years later, the Ukrainian government decided to allow the entry of tourists on the sole condition that they do so with a service hired by local agencies. A strategy that has favored the tourism industry and, thanks to the success of the mini-series, has turned Chernobyl into a magnet for the curious who want to go to Ground Zero.

After signing a document in which the administration of the complex is released from any responsibility for health, visitors can access the various guided tours that cross the nuclear power plant and its surroundings. Pripyat, better known as Ghost Town, and the Red Forest where animals roam freely, although it is strictly forbidden to pet them as they are considered radioactive.

A walk in horror

All excursions depart from Kiev, 120 kilometers from Chernobyl. The tourists stop for the first time at the Monument to firefighters who died in battle, a sad reminder to those responsible for the extinction of the initial fire and the liquidators, who worked to contain the radioactivity during the first days of the nuclear disaster. These heroes were the first victims, all dead because of the radioactivity they had badimilated.

In the mini-series of 5 episodes, recently ranked among the best in history by the specialized website of the BDIM, the actions of these men carry the thread that tells the horror in the first person. Among the employees of the factory, the firefighters present that night, the miners who dug under the reactor at a temperature higher than 50 degrees Celsius, to those called to carry out cleaning tasks by joining radioactive combos ( task more than 3 minutes to avoid receiving a fatal dose of radiation).

Continuing the visit, visitors can approach the number four reactor, which is covered for two years with a large metal dome 105 meters high, which envelops the exploded core. There, where the radiation reached was equivalent to 500 Hiroshimas, we can see today groups of tourists make "selfies", although they can only do it for 10 minutes. At 200 meters from the reactor, it is the maximum time that can be exposed to adverse effects. According to tourism agencies and the authorities of the exclusion zone, this term equates in terms of radiation to "a plane trip from Paris to New York".

Safety is a priority for companies and authorities working in Chernobyl. All visitors to the area must go through a radiation detector when they leave and are scanned by the "geyser" detectors at least twice during the trip. On the website of "Chernobyl Tour", they state that it is "highly unlikely" to receive a dangerous dose of radiation and that during those years, there was only one. 39, a single case in which toxic waste was found in the shoes of a tourist.

At present, the city of Pripyat is the one that attracts the most attention of the visitors who, with a camera in hand, represent the property abandoned by the inhabitants when they had to evacuate the city the day after the explosion, as well as the communist symbols that remain intact and the thrown masks that knew how to witness the horror.

The site located just 4 km from the nuclear power plant and which houses all the staff of the plant and their families (more than 50,000 people), will be uninhabitable for humans at least 20,000 years old. The SoloEast agency, one of the largest in the region, has announced a 30% increase in the number of tourists visiting Chernobyl in May (the HBO miniseries created on December 6th) compared to the same month of the year. . While the reserves for the high season of June, July and August have increased by about 40%.

According to "Chernobyl Tour", expect a similar increase of 30 to 40% due to the media impact of television production.

The tourist agency offers a special tour of the places listed in the 5 chapters, including the engine room of reactor 4 where the explosion occurred and the bunker where local authorities ordered not to evacuate after the accident. Two scenes loaded with tension that have been recreated masterfully in the first chapter of the miniseries.

The site "Chernobylwel" offers a two-day package for 297 euros covering: "super safe equipment", meet the grandmothers of Chernobyl (part of the 400 elderly people allowed to return home inside the Chernobyl) exclusion zone), seven dosimetric checks, 40 Soviet stops and 200 abandoned buildings.

To visit the interior of the factory, you will have to pay the modest sum of 399 euros, about 20 400 dollars. For the moment, the tourist agencies keep the prices.

The most basic day trip to Chernobyl from Kiev costs between 100 and 150 euros. But operators warn that if the fury for the miniseries continues and demand increases, it is very likely that rates will rise.