So it's 20 years since reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Like most people at the time, I thought that Russia was a world away, and failed to grasp the enormity of what had happened, perhaps because the USSR worked hard to keep the disaster a secret for as long as possible. The magnitude and environmental impact of the explosion only really hit home in the early 1990's, when I worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority alongside colleagues who were making regular visits to Chernobyl to advise on the clear up.
Two or three years ago I discovered the web journal of Elena Filatova (link below). Elena is a writer, historian, biker, and Kiev resident. Her journal includes writings and photographs from a bike ride around Chernobyl. It's a terrific read, and, since she's given permission for it to be reproduced freely, I'll quote an extract;
Dad is nuclear physicist, and he has educated me about many things.
He is much more worried about the speed my bike travels than about the
direction I point it.
My trips to Chernobyl are not like a walk in the park, but
the risk can be managed. Sometimes I go for rides alone, sometimes with
pillion passenger, but never in company with any other vehicle, because
I do not want anyone to raise dust in front of me.
I was a schoolgirl back in 1986 and as soon as radiation
level began to rise in Kiev, dad put all of us on the train to
grandma's house. Granny lives 800 kms from here and dad wasn't sure if
it was far enough away to keep us out of reach of the big bad wolf of a
nuclear meltdown.
The Communist government that was in power then kept silent
about this accident. In Kiev, they forced people to take part in their
preciously stupid labor day parade and it was then that ordinary people
began hearing the news of the accident from foreign radio stations and
relatives of those who died. The real panic began 7-10 days after
accident. Those who were exposed to the exceedingly high levels of
nuclear radiation in the first 10 days when it was still a state
secret, including unsuspecting visitors to the area, either died or
have serious health problems.
Link: Ghost Town
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