8 Facts About Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone

For sure you’ve heard about Chernobyl and you have almost definitely seen the brilliant TV Show on HBO. But how much do you really know about the Chernobyl exclusion zone? Yes it’s dangerous if you stay for a long time, but did you know any of the facts below ?

1. You need permission to visit

Believe it or not you cannot just rock up at Chernobyl and look around, in fact it is still nearly impossible to visit without an official guide. Strict military checkpoints are still present at the 30km and 10km zones and at the entrance to the nearest town to Chernobyl, Pripyat. To gain entrance you have to submit your name and your passport to the controlling authorities a week or so before you wish to visit, this is then checked at each checkpoint you pass. In the past many local people slipped past security and ransacked Pripyat and the surrounding areas, this caused the Ukranian government to tighten up security and stop the illegal intruders.

2.  The exclusion zone is much more than Chernobyl

Its true, Chernobyl is indeed the largest town in the exclusion zone, in fact as far back in history as the 12th century Chernobyl was a vibrant jewish town. At the time of the Chernobyl disaster the population had grown to a figure of around 14,000 people because of the nuclear industry.

Priyat attracts the most visitors today, formed in 1970 it is said to be a model of communist city life. Many young people lived there, in fact the average age of people there was 26. Now deserted, Pripyat offers great sights of a movie theatre, a discotheque, a sports field and of course the most famous amusement park.

Smaller towns in the exclusion zone have become cut of as the roads leading to them have wasted away over time.

3. Many people work in the exclusion zone

Would you believe around 5000 people still work in the exclusion zone? Guards and people working on the new sarcophagus are the main areas of work, but fireman and service staff are also there. There is a strict rotation pattern of 15 days in the zone, followed by 15 days out of the zone for safety. All staff stay in concrete dormitories next to a hotel which helps manage radiation levels they are exposed too.