Prypiat, Ukraine

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Coordinates: 51°24′20″N, 30°03′25″E

Prypiat, year 2001

Abandoned village near Prypiat

View of the Chernobyl power plant from Prypiat

Prypiat (Ukrainian: При́п'ять, Pryp’iat’; Russian: При́пять, Pripyat; Polish: Prypeć; 51°24′20″N, 30°03′25″E) is an abandoned city in the zone of alienation in northern Ukraine, Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. It was home to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers. The city was abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster. Its population had been around 50,000.

Unlike cities of military importance, access to Prypiat was not restricted prior to the disaster. Before the Chernobyl accident, nuclear power stations were seen by the Soviets as safe as any other type of power plant. Nuclear power stations were presented as being an achievement of Soviet engineering, where nuclear power was harnessed for peaceful projects. The slogan "peaceful atom" (Russian: мирный атом, mirny atom) was popular during those times. Initially the plant was intended to be built only 25 km from Kiev, but the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, among other bodies, expressed concern about the station being too close to the city, and so the station, together with Prypiat, were built in their current location - about 100 km from Kiev.

Until recently, the site was practically a museum, documenting the late Soviet era. Apartment buildings (four of which were recent constructions not yet occupied), swimming pools, hospitals and other buildings were all abandoned, and everything inside the buildings were left behind, including records, papers, TV's, children's toys, and clothing. Residents were only allowed to take away a suitcase full of documents, books and clothes that were not contaminated.

However, the apartment buildings were almost completely looted some time around the beginning of the 21st century. Nothing of value was left behind; even toilet seats were taken away. But some buildings have been untouched. A lot of the interiors of buildings have been vandalized and ransacked over the years. Because the buildings are not maintained, the roofs leak, and in spring the rooms are swamped with water. It is not unusual to find trees growing on roofs and even inside buildings. This hastens deterioration, and in a few decades the city will most probably lie in ruins.

Prypiat and the surrounding area will not be safe for human habitation for several centuries to come. The most troublesome radioactive isotope (caesium-137) released by the accident (external gamma exposure short biological halflife in humans) will take 300 years to decay to one thousandth of its present level. The strontium-90 will decay to a similar time scale. Strontium is a beta emitter with a long biological halflife in humans, which can cause disease through internal exposure. After the caesium activity has decayed to this level, the area may be used for most human activities again. The graph below shows that caesium is responsible for almost the entire gamma dose rate due to the accident experienced in Prypiat. This has not prevented wildlife from entering the area; wild animal populations are actually quite large in the exclusion zone, capitalizing on the lack of human occupation. Statistics are not yet widely available to indicate changes in animal reproductive cycles nor mortality rates.

Many people ask if it is safe enough to go to Pripyat and its surrounding areas. The Exclusion Zone is and will always be safe enough to visit. The radiation levels have dropped rapidly as time has passed, while radiation levels in close proximity to the Chernobyl Power Plant itself still contains radiation at almost the same level from 1986. That is why when you are touring in close proximity to the Power Plant you are provided with a hazmat suit, a gas mask, and most of all, a Geiger Counter; Pripyat has remained a relatively safe area to visit.

The contributions made by the different isotopes to the dose (in air) caused in the contaminated area in the time shortly after the accident. Note that this image was drawn using data from the OECD report, [1] and the second edition of 'The radiochemical manual'.

The city and the Exclusion Zone are now bordered with guards and police, but with easily obtained documents, entering the zone is not a problem. A guide will accompany you to make sure that you do not vandalize anything or take anything from the zone. The city of Chernobyl, which is located a few miles from Prypiat is fully accompanied, with a hotel, many apartment buildings, and a local lodge. Entering into the zone, zone officials will provide you with a Geiger counter and a gas mask for minimal protection from the radiation. The doors of most of the buildings are open to reduce the risk to visitors, and almost all of them can be visited when accompanied by your guide.

Beginning in 1986, shortly after the disaster, the city of Slavutych was constructed to replace Prypiat, to accommodate plant workers and scientists, 2nd to the city of Chernobyl.

[edit] Prypiat in popular culture

In the 2007 computer game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, the player can visit the abandoned city of Prypiat. However, it's not wholly an empty, abandoned city anymore, it is now a war zone being fought over by two factions in the game.

[edit] See also

• Chernobyl disaster
• Zone of alienation
• Elena Filatova

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Pripyat

[edit] External links

	Administrative divisions of Kiev Oblast, Ukraine
	Raions: Baryshivskyi | Bilotserkivskyi | Bohuslavskyi | Boryspilskyi | Borodianskyi | Brovarskyi | Fastivskyi | Ivankivskyi | Kaharlytskyi | Kyievo-Sviatoshynskyi | Makarivskyi | Myronivskyi | Obukhivskyi | Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi | Poliskyi | Rokytnianskyi | Skvyrskyi | Stavyschenskyi | Taraschanskyi | Tetiivskyi | Vasylkivskyi | Volodarskyi | Vyshhorodskyi | Yahotynskyi | Zgurivskyi
	Cities: Berezan | Bila Tserkva | Bohuslav | Boryspil | Boiarka | Brovary | Bucha | Chornobyl | Fastiv | Irpin | Kaharlyk | Myronivka | Obukhiv | Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi | Prypiat | Rzhyschiv | Skvyra | Slavutych | Tarascha | Tetiiv | Ukrainka | Uzyn | Vasylkiv | Vyshhorod | Vyshneve | Yahotyn
	Urban-type settlements: Baryshivka | Borodianka | Hostomel | Ivankiv | Krasiatychi | Makariv | Rokytne | Stavysche | Volodarka | Zghurivka | more...
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