Where Is Chernobyl Nuclear Plant?

Chernobyl Nuclear Plant is located in the town of Pripyat, which is situated in the Kiev Oblast of Ukraine. The town of Pripyat is located about 110 km north of the city of Kiev and close to the border of Belarus. The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant was one of the most powerful nuclear power plants in the USSR, with four RBMK-1000 reactors that had a capacity of 1,000 MW each.

The Disaster

In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, a safety test at the plant went wrong, leading to an explosion in reactor number four. The explosion released a cloud of radiation that spread over Europe, making it one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history. The plant was shut down following the disaster and a 30 km exclusion zone was established around the site, which remains in place to this day.

Tourism

Despite the dangers of the radiation still present in the area, Chernobyl has become a popular destination for tourists in recent years. Visitors can see the abandoned town of Pripyat, as well as the remains of the nuclear plant and the surrounding area. However, due to the risk of radiation exposure, visitors are only allowed to enter the exclusion zone with a licensed tour guide and for a limited amount of time.

Current Situation

Today, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant is still being monitored and efforts are being made to contain the radiation in the exclusion zone. A new confinement structure covers the original reactor and work is underway to dismantle the other three reactors at the plant. The after-effects of the disaster will continue to be felt for many years to come, but the hope is that the lessons learned from Chernobyl will be used to prevent similar disasters from occurring in the future.