Chernobyl - NOW WITH PICS!!

Gassage

There's a slow reaction to this thread.

Panama_Jack666

Hertz32 said:

Sambostar said:

Why the would you willingly want to go to Chernobyl?  There is nothing there and I imagine the midges would drive you nuts.

I could have got you a tour of the decommissioned plant at Fawley if you were interested.  Probably much the same less the radiation.

And isn't Chernobyl still inside a country that is actively in the state of civil war?

You never wondered what it would be like to be in a post apocalyptic zombie movie? 

Hmmmm, looks like Butlins.











But posher.

Sibelius

I had a friend that went; he came back with super powers...

Phil_aka_Pip

Sibelius said:

I had a friend that went; he came back with super powers...

and I bet he glowed in the dark

Moss

stickyfiddle said:

Why go?

Because it's fascinating! I live in the UAE so can go to a 5-star hotel and sit on the beach any day I want. It's dull.

The Ukrainian currency is quite low at the moment, so a visit to Kiev is very cheap at the moment, and Chernobyl is just up the road.

In terms of safety they give you a Geiger counter so you can what dose you're getting- it's about the same as a long-haul flight as long as you don't wander off.

Chernobyl, and Pripyat in particular, is a powerful reminder of nature. The trees don't care about the radiation, and the whole place is a forest with buildings dotted through it. And it's one of very few examples of somewhere humans once inhabited in large numbers and then all just left.

It's the perfect time to go at the moment too- the new safe confinement "arch" is almost complete so the old sarcophagus won't be visible for much longer, and the old (and HUGE) ICBM-tracking radar station down the road is to be dismantled over the next couple of years.

As for the Ferris wheel, it did run briefly for a few days before the accident, but the official opening was due a couple of days after the evacuation, so it was never "officially" open.

Run for your life @ICBM

Chalky

Funny how Chernobyl is now a holiday destination and the citizens of Hiroshima built a lovely park to take the children to on Sunday afternoons, located at ground zero.

Heartfeltdawn

stickyfiddle said:

I was in it yesterday. And I'm not radioactive. Pics to follow! I have 40GB of them so might take a while...

I'm a fool. I assumed Chernobyl was some kind of London hipster eaterie. 

Emp_Fab

I'd rather not take the risk personally.  Everyone knows what exposure to radiation causes - and - regardless of what 'they' say is a 'safe' level, surely not going to an irradiated area out of curiosity would be the sensible thing to do.  There are countless HD videos of the place - I'll accept the loss of that "being there" feeling in exchange for not risking my health.

Yeah... I know 'they' say it's all within acceptable limits etc, blah blah blah....  but you can't come up with a fixed limit that applies to everyone - e.g. below x mS you're 100% safe, above that value all bets are off.  That's not how nature works.

chillidoggy

I wouldn't worry, you're far more likely to die from other causes well before the radiation gets you.

Emp_Fab

Yeah...  fucking boredom, going to a deserted Russian shithole for a holiday !

Col_Decker

pics or it never happened

Sibelius

Phil_aka_Pip said:

 

and I bet he glowed in the dark

Saves a fortune on his leccy bill.

stickyfiddle

Emp_Fab said:

I'd rather not take the risk personally.  Everyone knows what exposure to radiation causes - and - regardless of what 'they' say is a 'safe' level, surely not going to an irradiated area out of curiosity would be the sensible thing to do.  There are countless HD videos of the place - I'll accept the loss of that "being there" feeling in exchange for not risking my health.

Yeah... I know 'they' say it's all within acceptable limits etc, blah blah blah....  but you can't come up with a fixed limit that applies to everyone - e.g. below x mS you're 100% safe, above that value all bets are off.  That's not how nature works.

Yeah, but they have a buttload of data from all the people living and working around there following the accident, plus knowledge from decades of x-ray exposure and medical records. There are still a few thousand people living and working in Chernobyl (not full time - some do 4 day on, 3 day off shifts, and some do 15-on, 15-off. 

What they basically say is there is a baseline for "completely safe" (ie equivalent of a couple of x-rays and background radiation from a few long-haul flights), then a limit above which everyone is seriously buggered. Obviously there's a pretty wide band between those two levels, in which you really don't want to be, ideally, but you don't get anywhere near that on a tour.

stickyfiddle

Col_Decker said:

pics or it never happened

Couple of phone pics for now...

First, the important stuff- the night before:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/stickyfiddle/19CF5F95-1D29-42C9-88F1-F38A1FEED905_zpsg1spyla0.jpg

Next, a wide shot. Climbed 17 floors for this one...

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/stickyfiddle/6C84C1BA-84B2-402B-BB00-70DB526760C3_zpskrmumgkc.jpg

And the plant itself, from the same angle. You can just see the ferris wheel in the foreground

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/stickyfiddle/2BF7A917-D2C0-4E75-9958-29BF149B0F16_zpsurhzyhij.jpg

mike_l

Duly wowed.

I'd be fascinated to visit there. Despite what Emp says, looks like an awesome experience.

boogieman

A kitten dies every time someone uses a Photobucket link.

stickyfiddle

boogieman said:

A kitten dies every time someone uses a Photobucket link.

Nah, kittens love the 'bucket. These aren't going on my flickr cos they're a bit shit, and I can't use anything else at work, so suck it up

boogieman

Kittens might love it, mobiles don't though. I really want to see your pics though Sticky, so I'll have to fire up the laptop this evening.

stickyfiddle

boogieman;710544" said:

Kittens might love it, mobiles don't though. I really want to see your pics though Sticky, so I'll have to fire up the laptop this evening.

It's ok - as I say, these aren't great pics compared to some of the others I have. Should have some pretty shots in Kiev too.

littlegreenman

stickyfiddle said:

Should have some pretty shots in Kiev too.

stickyfiddle said:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/stickyfiddle/19CF5F95-1D29-42C9-88F1-F38A1FEED905_zpsg1spyla0.jpg

Yep, that's them right there