This link just arrived in an email from StumbleUpon:
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The photo scenes are starkly haunting, but fascinating and interesting at the same time. I remember when the terrible nuclear accident happened in 1986, but its been years since I've given Chernobyl a thought.
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Here is a blog and website dedicated to continued indepth study of the the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident.
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14 comments:
Thank you for posting this.... just another stark in our face reminder of the damage we humans are bringing Mother Earth to. *wrapping my arms around her today*
DI
The Blue Ridge Gal
It is unfortunate that so many people have either ignored or entirely forgotten about the Chernobyl accident.
I personally visited the Chernobyl area for two days in June 2006 with a friend who is a former resident of Pripyat, the city that used to be home to the Chernobyl Plant workers. We toured the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room), several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal of my trip at:
My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster
That is dead creepy, isn't it? I hope it never happens here.
I did see a program with Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman where they motorcycled across Manchuria and Siberia (called The Long Way Round - the sequel is The Long Way Down (the length of Africa. Both programs are excellent). They stopped in Chernobyl to visit a school with some orphans. How foolish is mankind? I fear there's always someone out there willing to take the risk to make a stupid point. God help us!
Kat
Blue Ridge Gal,
Yeah, no kidding. I echo your sentiments and pray that something like this NEVER EVER happens again.
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MarkR,
Thank you for your comment! My goodness, you have seen this terrible sight firsthand. I recall the frightening news reports when it happened, but must confess that over time it all retreated way to the back of my mind. The people of the Chernobyl area, and this city of Pripyat, suffered so horribly....none of us can imagine such a thing.
Thank you for the link to your photo journal....I will visit there.
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Poetikat,
Yes, absolutely creepy and haunting are these sights. Chernobyl is a sad reminder of the grave dangers of things nuclear.
I once saw a TV show once which toured a hospital full of Chernobyl victims.....adults and children very ill with various forms of cancer, especially of the thyroid, as I recall.
That was very sad to look over and interesting at the same time. Amazing how the trees are growing and the fish that survived the radiation in the water. Is it save to walk around in that area now?
What is not widely known is the number of people who have spent the last 23 years suffering from the effects of the Chernobyl accident, but not badly enough to be in a hospital all the time.
I know people who used to live in Pripyat. They live in apartments, but still suffer and must visit polyclinics several times a year for treatments. They are unable to work and receive a very small pension (equivalent to roughly $100 US per month).
Gramma Ann - it is generally considered safe to be in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for short periods of time. However, there is always a chance of inhaling a "hot" particle, though I have not heard of this ever happening.
There are still highly radioactive areas in the Zone, but visitors must be accompanied by a guide, and the guides keep people away from the really dangerous areas.
Hi, Gramma Ann,
Yes, aren't those photos something....as you say, at the same time sad and interesting.
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Hi, MarkR,
Thank you for providing more helpful info!
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To anyone reading this....take the second link in the blogpost to reach MarkR's photo journal story of his visit to Chernobyl in 2006. It is most interesting!
First--your magical sunset photo is a nice addition to your comments! Second, people who lived in Northern Nevada and Southwest Idaho got a good dose of fallout from the Nevada bomb testing in the fifties. My mother,along with many of her contemporaries, suffered thyroid damage. Mom lived a good long life, but many in the area did not. Some have tried to seek assistance from the govt. but not much can be proven. Thanks for the important reminder.
Thanks for sharing those links with your blog readers. Amazing. And even more amazing how totally stupid and ignorant that mankind and their governments can be.
Hi, Leenie,
Wow, thank you, too, for mentioning the fall-out situation in the western U.S. in years past. I don't think of that often, either. I'm glad to hear your mom came through it OK.
Thanks for mentioning the profile photo, too. That was one from that night we were driving to the dairy banquet and saw the amazing sunset.
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Hi, Oz Girl,
Thank you for stopping by! Thank StumbleUpon for sending along some interesting links this morning. Yeah, the Chernobyl sights are really something to see.
Fascinating and horrifying! Thanks for passing this along, Jeannelle. There is a nuclear power plant about 80 miles west of where I live, and that's close enough. We should never take our safety for granted.
Hi, Pat,
Perfect descriptions...."fascinating and horrifying", yes definitely. Come to think of it, and I rarely think about it, but there is a nuclear power generating station about 50 miles from where I live, too.
Thanks for swinging by!
I remember that accident too, Jeannelle. Horrific is too mild a description. We lived in Palo Verde, AZ for awhile, 15 miles from the plant...I never, never ignored it's ominous presence and potential danger! That March nite the US dropped the first bombs in Iraq..about 3 minutes before it aired on TV that we'd done that, Luke AFB fighter jets swarmed the skies above us around the nuke site...a very erie feeling, I didn't sleep at all that nite!
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