Todays Chernobyl.

Thanks

Interesting to see how that nature is busy reclaiming the city. Slowly but surely erosion is taking stuff apart and the plants are taking hold wherever they can and further destroying what man built there.

Reminds me of an episode of Life After People that the History Channel did.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


This is an amazing, well put together thread. Your photos are excellent and your explanations of each are superb.

While I`ve read about Chernobyl and have seen pictures in the past, this was a magnificent modern day re-entry and guided tour by you, into that specific place and time. Thanks for sharing these pictures and giving us the storyline as well.

Wow, thank you for posting this, and using your time to do it so well. It's these little things we forget about that we've done to the earth, I bet in another decade that square will be covered completely in trees, and vegetation.

S&F and a PM if you get the chance for my mother who was born there in 1947

One day I plan on taking a trip to the part of the Ukraine, for the very reason you did. When Chernobyl went up, it was one of those "where were you when" days for me, I was 9 at the time, and got in the house after playing to find my parents crowded around the TV while the the news had broken in on regular programing with live ongoing coverage. Only nearly 3 months before to the day, the same thing had happened to me when Challenger suffered a catastrophic failure during take-off and blew up. When Challenger went down, I kind of got a taste of what the world was really like, a start to the loss of youthful innocence. When Chernobyl went, the world changed for me, at 9, I basically lost my youthful innocence.

When I turned 10 that September, I was a much less innocent boy than when I turned 9, I was fearful of anything nuclear, due to ignorance, and the thought of a nuclear war scared my at all times, I had nightmares, I remember having a counseling session in school after Chernobyl, due to me being a little withdrawn. Years later my mom showed me the copies of the file they gave her, and all the pictures I drew were of mushroom clouds and my house burning.

When the internet came along, I spent a great deal of time researching Chernobyl, and Challenger, I no longer suffer from the fear I once had, but the main reason I want to visit Chernobyl, is to close so to speak,m that chapter in my life, sort of a coming to terms with my loss of innocence as a young boy.

Thank you for sharing your story and photos with us.

Ryan.

This post has to be one of the best personal POV stories I was reading in ATS, I actually felt with you in this journey. In the car, bribing the guard, checking the Geiger counter every once in a while, seeing the reactor, lol... Never felt like that before, I was completely captivated in the screen it felt like i'm watching a peak moment on a very good movie.

Your writing abilities, and capturing the moments with the camera and mixing them together was simply brilliant. Thanks for sharing! Would love to hear more stories from you in the future.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


Awesome Visual Diary,

How did it feel? Your inner feelings of the place. It must have been awe inspiring to say the least.

Definatley got That "fallout" feel to the imagery.

Awesome S&F for you.

Topped off my evening.

Originally posted by SN4FU

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
I Highly suggest you don't eat those berries, not because of the radioactivity (well that too) but they are poisonous to humans and generally only birds eat them.

Just a word of advice from a European.

Those 'berries' are rosehips. They are not poisonous to humans, they are very high in vitamin C, it's what ROSEHIP syrup is made from, the stuff fed to babies. Harvesting was actually encouraged during the second world war. But if you want to believe that, fine, more on the bushes for me to make syrup, wine and jelly from....Thanks
That said I would think twice about eating them from that area..

Thanks op for a great post, eerie and interesting.

edit on 23-12-2011 by SN4FU because: more info

People need to really start realizing the dif between nature's bounties, what you can eat and so forth , and what you can't. The time is coming...Yes, Rosehips are amazing! Not only loaded with Vitamin C, but also make a good tasting tea for things like bladder infections, headaches, and dizziness.

Great post OP, what a trip!

This is something that happened when I was a little kid, growing up in Iceland it was on the news.
People way over here where talking about a radioactive cloud coming towards us, polluting the soil.

I was filled with sadness when Fugushima happened. This technology is just to big to handle safely.
If something goes wrong... it goes wrong big time.

There are more than a few plants that are getting so old and busted up all over the world, that I expect
this will happen many times over, while our destruction of this planet continues... sadly.

Well, I'm glad you made the trip and got back safely.

later,
covermind

Originally posted by Skewed
Kind of ominous if you ask me.

Here is another tour of a lady that checked it out several years ago, not sure if it has been posted before but might lead to some comparisons over time.

Chernobyl Revisited - Ghost Town

Awesome....thanks for the link!
I recall seeing this site s few years ago, but could not seem to find it again.

We need more posts like this... well, hopefully we won't need to... One of the best threads I've seen for awhile. Will we see Fukashima threads like this? Well that's if TPTB don't sweep it all under the rug! See you in 2050...

Originally posted by UFO1414
We need more posts like this... well, hopefully we won't need to... One of the best threads I've seen for awhile. Will we see Fukashima threads like this? Well that's if TPTB don't sweep it all under the rug! See you in 2050...

You cant sweep radiation under the rug, the damage from Fukashima will become present when enough time has passed.

Great thread well put together


but
if you build a house out of sticks its bound to blow away have Americans heard of bricks ? it seems a bit mad to me? don't live in wooden boxes brick ones are much better lol and don't build on reclaimed land because the water will win , # flows downhill

reply to post by Agit8dChop


AMAZING, AMAZING AMAZING.... im going to try get out there from uk, all sorts of tours.. this has always facinated me and my brother thankyou bro

Jay

Originally posted by RyanFromCan

When I turned 10 that September, I was a much less innocent boy than when I turned 9, I was fearful of anything nuclear, due to ignorance, and the thought of a nuclear war scared my at all times

Ryan.

Interesting to see that you are located in Canada (?)...then you can imagine what "nuclear war" meant for us in Europe, in particular Germany (when i still lived in Germany).

The common assumption was that in a major conflict, Germany would be the first to be "leveled" due to the fact that we bordered the "Eastern Block"...and of course the many US bases in Germany. So any nuclear war etc...which was ALWAYS "in the air" during the 80s somehow, "we" would be the first to get it.

I remember around those days, it was when Reagan attacked Libya (loooooong ago in the 80s)..and Ghadaffi got really mead...i was convinced that the 3rld world war would start "any time soon". (Now in retrospective it's ridiculous since Ghadaffii is/was really nothing more than a ranting idiot and hardly a threat ). But...well you get the idea what "cold war" meant for people in Europe....

As for nuclear power plants and the general stance of people against nuclear power in the "ah so liberal and green" Europe....well Chernobyl was only ONE (but certainly one huge) factor which made people even more realize that it might be a good idea to abandon nuclear power...just saying that the people here have good reason WHY they think that way. (Some Americans who don't even KNOW what happened in Chernobyl..why should they have an opinion against nuclear power...you see where i am getting there?)

But...as said earlier...let ONE major accident like that happen in the states...i think 9/11 would be nothing in comparison.

There is a wonderful blog written by a woman who rides through Chernobyl and all of the surrounding areas. She has pictures and has lots of great information on the subject. Some of the best stuff I have seen. You can find her stuff on FreeNet, but because it is a FreeNet site I cannot link to it. However, it is found rather easily.

Good Day

Thank you for this great post and photo set!

One thing I find funny is that you regret not being allowed to take a souvenir, meanwhile I would go screaming out of the house (ok maybe not screaming but I would seriously be OUT of the house) if someone brought something new from Japan into the house, due to possibly being within let's say 100km of Fukushima and having some MOX dust on it. Something from Priyapat?? I would be running and cursing you the whole way! lol!!

And someone asked why it looks like Priyapat has been looted, and they feared whether those looted goods were resold and made into new buildings etc. Yes, yes they were. Most of it probably stayed relatively local (Ukraine/Belarus/that corner of Russia) but I heard that the radioactive metal went far and wide.

It will be even more the case for Fukushima. Not just looters either (although get ready for that, West Coast of North America!). Sony, Nissan, Panasonic, Canon, Nikon, Sandisk and several other companies have factories within 30km of the blow-ups. Sony makes Blu Rays and ipod/ipad batteries in that location (among other things). You can find those in almost every home. How long until people have post-Fuku Sony Blu Rays in their homes? Well the largest shopping occasion of the year, Christmas, is here, so for many families, the radioactive clock starts ticking now. I really appreciate how these countries love SHARING their nuclear disaster with the rest of the world...*rolls eyes*

Anyway, I'm kinda glad for you and your family all you got to take from there were your photos. Geiger counters just don't tell the whole story, and photos (and memories) are the best souvenirs anyway.

reply to post by greyartist
).

Thanks for posting the clip. I had to go back a few times and stop it to get all the captioning. It does make you wonder, have they followed the children. After Hiroshima, they did many studies that are still continuing there and found many things, including high incidenance of cancer, especially forms of leukemia. Are they following the plant growth there and mutation? There is a lot of research that seems to have been overlooked (or hidden).

Thank you for sharing your adventure. Chernobyl has interested me since playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R a few years back.

Very eery images and the room with the used gas masks is especially disturbing.