# 3 Years of Pripyat & Chernobyl



## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

In Oct 2012 i decided to have my 3rd and final visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone and Pripyat.

For the last 3 years i've spent over 8 days in Pripyat exploring as much of the city as possible as well as the surrounding areas and Slavutich (the city which was built for the workers of the clean up) I've helped take 3 groups of like minded urban explorers to the zone over these 3 years and i've made some great friends along the way.

I decided to have a little re-edit of my pictures from the zone from all of my trips and i'd like to share some of the best.

Apologies for the amount of pictures but there really is so much to see.



















































































































































































I'd like to thank everybody who attended the trips with me, you were all amazing and look forward to seeing you all again the future.


























One day, Maybe.


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

amazing photography dude. Spooky....


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

My friend keira talking about doing this, it really does seem fascinating.... Really good pics

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## svended (Oct 7, 2011)

I'd love to go some day. My family were going to pay for me to go last october, but couldn't get the time off work. So many things I want to see in the Ukraine like the underground submarine base at Balaklava.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

James B said:


> That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


Seriously?

Chernobyl?


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

What a place, fantastic photos.


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## ScottHannah (Dec 28, 2012)

James B said:


> That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


Haha! You really should've googled it before coming out with a statement like that.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Fantastic - I seriously considered your open offer on DW last year to go. Would be a great place to see. Unfortunately not a good time for me.

Have they finished the planning for the new sarcophagus that's supposed to be getting built.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Love em:thumb:. 

That place looks like something out of 'I am Legend' (only a bit more real!). It would make a great film set.


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## VXR.Tom (Jul 20, 2012)

Really nice photo's - would certainly be interesting going.


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Amazing and spooky , I remember watching the docu about the disaster and how it almost ended up being worse than it ended up being if the reactor floor had cracked with the heat:doublesho:doublesho.

Thanks for sharing and do your shoes glow in the dark when you go clubbing?:lol:


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## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

Bero said:


> Have they finished the planning for the new sarcophagus that's supposed to be getting built.


The new Sarcophagus was well underway when we visited in Oct, they are building it in sections, it should be moved over reactor 4 in 2014.

There was a webcam of the progress somewhere but i can't seem to find it.



bigslippy said:


> Amazing and spooky , I remember watching the docu about the disaster and how it almost ended up being worse than it ended up being if the reactor floor had cracked with the heat


It's still on the cards, all the nuclear material is still inside the reactor, if the containment failed now, it would be a mess, this is why they are building the new containment which will last the next 100 years, the existing one was only meant to last 20, its been 27 already.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

carbonangel, what are the health risks of visiting that place? Minimal I expect?


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## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

LeadFarmer said:


> carbonangel, what are the health risks of visiting that place? Minimal I expect?


For a stay of 2 days it's tiny and nothing to worry about. If you were to live there for a long time then it becomes dangerous, this is why it still has a 10km exclusion zone around the plant, used to be 30km.

Usually the exposure you would get while in Pripyat for 2 days is equal to a return flight from London to LA (40usv)

Most of Pripyat is around 0.5 - 2 Usv (per hour) with outside the reactor at 5Usv

A good chart for some eye opening comparison is here (The part about the Reactor is a bit misleading it's only MSV (1000usv) inside the reactor buildings which you cannot visit.


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## Jim_964 (Jan 25, 2009)

Some stunning photos there, gives a real sense of how eerily quiet the place must be.


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## svended (Oct 7, 2011)

James B said:


> That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


The youth of today.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

James B said:


> That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


Good grief you really dont know....my god it has to have been one of the worlds biggest nuclear disasters in history!!!

I honestly cant believe you dont know....you have either lived under a stone or are only 5 years old James :lol:

OP:

Awesome photos...must be very very spooky going there though....not sure I would have the balls to be honest!!


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Really good photos, very spooky looking with all the trees growing now. I remember looking a photos a few years back i think, is there a car/van/lorry graveyard there, where all the contaminated cars were left?


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

James B said:


> That is crazy, whats the story behind this place then? (i know i could Google it but id rather hear it for someone whos been there)


Free wax if we explain what happened here?:thumb:


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## Grommit (May 3, 2011)

Superb pictures dude.

It is super eerie and spooky. Particularly the Bear with Gas Mask on and the empty kids beds, and the empty swimming pool.

Probably a once thriving area is now dead to the world, for the most part. Sad sad stuff.


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

Great pictures, I work with ionisation radiation, and it is amazing how many people see it as a great danger.

As you have mentioned flying is one of the easiest way to get a dose.


NOT sent from my PC/Laptop.


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

Great photos :thumb:


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## ells_924 (Nov 2, 2009)

i would LOVE to go, its on the list of places i NEED to see!


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Deathstar said:


> As you have mentioned flying is one of the easiest way to get a dose.


Is this because you are closer to the sun?


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

Essentially yes, but no. It's cosmic radiation, the atmosphere is thinner at 40,000 feet so offers less protection. The more air you have between you and space the "better". People who live at high altitude experience more cosmic radiation than you or I as sea level. 


NOT sent from my PC/Laptop.


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## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

Deathstar said:


> Essentially yes, but no. It's cosmic radiation, the atmosphere is thinner at 40,000 feet so offers less protection. The more air you have between you and space the "better". People who live at high altitude experience more cosmic radiation than you or I as sea level.
> 
> NOT sent from my PC/Laptop.


Sorry for my ignorance, but as I live at 2,200 masl (meters above sea level) does that automatically mean that I am more susceptible to skin cancer?


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

No, the dose you will receive is still well within your yearly guidelines  
So there is NO need to worry. 

Anyway skin cancer is caused by UV.

That picture posted above of the dose rates is a great example of how much radiation you need to be exposed to, to cause any harm.

There is a lot if scaremongering around radiation which is completely unjust. 


NOT sent from my PC/Laptop.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

transtek said:


> Sorry for my ignorance, but as I live at 2,200 masl (meters above sea level) does that automatically mean that I am more susceptible to skin cancer?


You should be ok, but try not to go any higher. So don't...

Go upstairs
Climb a ladder
Stand on tip toes etc


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## james_19742000 (May 8, 2008)

What the photos demonstrate to me, is that it shows the final years of the cold war, frozen in time, the 'CCCP' markings etc it just reminds me of various news broadcasts that came from the Soviet Union all over the 80's, the basic cots in the hospital? You can see the money was being spent elsewhere.

Always love seeing photos like this and really is an area frozen in time, superb pictures and you must of enjoyed your visits to go 3 times.


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

Brilliant Thread


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## JenJen (Jun 30, 2010)

Ross has been there says it was a moment he would never forget, his photos are amazing also.


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## tzotzo (Nov 15, 2009)

Very nice photography.

When I see deserted buildings, cities etc, I feel so small!!


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## VW STEVE. (Mar 18, 2012)

Great pictures,love 28 days later site.


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## ottostein (Sep 11, 2012)

Deathstar said:


> No, the dose you will receive is still well within your yearly guidelines
> So there is NO need to worry.
> 
> Anyway skin cancer is caused by UV.
> ...


I eat radiation for breakfast

Cuz im gansta!

Seriously though, Epic pics, Is there no way to safely remove any of the contaminated fuel?


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

ottostein said:


> I eat radiation for breakfast
> 
> Cuz im gansta!
> 
> Seriously though, Epic pics, Is there no way to safely remove any of the contaminated fuel?


You can do anything with time and money, but the cost would be immense. So much so they're building the largest movable structure in the world at the cost on >$1.2billion. According to Wikipedia it's cost $6.7billion already. Even if the whole reactor building and fuel was removed what do you do with it?

Nowhere can handle 100s if not 1000s of tons of highly radioactive waste, it could not be transported, handled, treated or stored...... nor would anyone want it, imagine the outcry if some was being buried in our 'back yard'.

Additionally doing this would not really improve things as the ground and everything around will still be just as radioactive, the 10km exclusion zone would still be required.

Things are complicated further by it being a USSR accident but now inside modern day Ukraine.


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## ottostein (Sep 11, 2012)

Maybe i should invent a safe way of launching this into space and hurling it way outta harms way i would be a very rich man 

Thing is though all the other waste is being put into the ground in massive concrete/ steel bins. Also i guess that being that its been seeping radiation into the wildlife it would be pointless.

Its a no win situation really, Move it and the land is still farked, keep it there and no one can go in there for thousands of years?


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## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

Thanks guys


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

ardandy said:


> Seriously?
> 
> Chernobyl?





ScottHannah said:


> Haha! You really should've googled it before coming out with a statement like that.


Yer seriously i dont know so i asked the question, same as you do for detailing related ones like "wax over sealant or the other way around etc" i really don't see the problem in asking. All i wanted to know what was simple stuff, he mentioned this was the city built for the clean up workers, id never head of a city built for a clean up so asked a question.

Id heard of the nuclear disaster but not these derelict cities.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Just to clarify, id have been interested in how large the city was/is, ie in population back then and what was in it, how many schools, hospitals, shops, stuff like that.

I understand my initial question was quite vague but it was posted at a time i was having a quick break from emails with a cup-a-t.


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## absolute (Jan 19, 2010)

Do you have a Facebook, I enjoy obp and urban exploring adventures on Facebook, would love to have another to add to my list. Absolutely fascinating


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## woodys (Dec 20, 2010)

The railway line with the clouds.... Awesome shot!! :thumb:


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## Tank. (Dec 26, 2011)

Id love to do this, not got the gear for photography but would love to go for the experience, 

whats the difference in pripyat and chernobyl? is chernobyl the power station and pripyat the surrounding area?

are they guided tours or just a matter of enter at your own risk and wander about?

love to get into urbex in general but nobody to go about with, dont think its something i'd do myself incase i got in trouble, plus im prob not slim and agile enough


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## ferted (May 7, 2011)

Tank. said:


> ...whats the difference in pripyat and chernobyl? is chernobyl the power station and pripyat the surrounding area?


Pripyat was founded on 4 February 1970 to house workers for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was officially proclaimed a city in 1979 but was abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster and its population was around 50,000 before the accident



> ...are they guided tours or just a matter of enter at your own risk and wander about


If you Google Pripyat tours there's quite a few companies who arrange organise visits, AFAIK you can't just turn up as I believe you need permits etc to enter the area as it's in the exclusion zone


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## ferted (May 7, 2011)

In fact a bit of searching on t'internet reveals many places in the ex-Soviet Union which can be visited on organised tours from basic places right up to top secret millitary establishments, but there's also quite a few places in the UK alone which many peopple probably aren't even aware exist!!


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## PrestigeChris (Nov 17, 2009)

this is another good one to look at.

as far as i know its something to do with a civil war, completely abandoned russian seaside resort

http://www.amazfacts.com/2011/08/abandoned-russian-riviera-resort-46.html


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## Hugi (May 11, 2011)

Its a very interesting place! I was there two years ago. Stayed in Kiev at the Intercontinental and went for a one day trip to chernobyl and Pripyat!

Was very interesting and impressive! 

I would go there again for sure. If possible I would go for two or three days to the zone. One day is not enough!


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Very very powerful images they just draw you in and you start to think, thanks for sharing


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