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You can now visit Chernobyl’s control room

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tourists are now able to visit the radioactive control room at Chernobyl which has been within the exclusion zone of access since the disaster more than 30 years ago.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The control room is in decay and is located at Unit Four, where the reactor exploded.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is also the location of the deadly “elephant’s foot” radioactive mass which was discovered in the basement under the remains of the reactor.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiXTkBIbSz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiXTkBIbSz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">ChNPP from the inside: the “golden corridor” connects all the blocks of the station, including the destroyed fourth one. The name comes from the appearance of wall cladding, which creates a golden glow in the hallway. The length of the corridor is more than a kilometer! ⠀ ЧАЕС зсередини: "золотий коридор" з'єднує всі блоки станції, в тому числі, і зруйнований четвертий. Назва походить від зовнішнього вигляду обшивки стін, яка створює в коридорі золотисте світіння. Протяжність коридору - більше кілометра! ⠀ ЧАЭС изнутри: "золотой коридор" соединяет все блоки станции, в том числе, и разрушенный четвертый. Название произошло от внешнего вида обшивки стен, которая создает в коридоре золотистое свечение. Протяженность коридора - более километра!</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/chernobyltour/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> CHERNOBYL TOUR</a> (@chernobyltour) on Jun 10, 2019 at 10:03am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the control room is still a hotbed of radioactive activity and measures at around 40,000 times the safe level, visitors are only able to visit the control room for five minutes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The decision to open the site up to tourists came after the success of the HBO mini series </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chernobyl</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which outlined the disaster and what mistakes led to it happening. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B06dUzTALb8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B06dUzTALb8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Nowadays you can go inside the Chernobyl nuclear power station, see the main circulation pumps and one of the control rooms. Book a private tour to visit the ChNPP ☢️ ⠀ На сьогоднішній день ви можете побувати всередині Чорнобильської АЕС, побачити головні циркуляційні насоси та відвідати один з блочних щитів управління. Замовляйте приватний тур для відвідування ЧАЕС ☢️ ⠀ На сегодняшний день вы можете побывать внутри Чернобыльской АЭС, увидеть главные циркуляционные насосы и посетить один из блочных щитов управления. Заказывайте частный тур для посещения ЧАЭС ☢️</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/chernobyltour/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> CHERNOBYL TOUR</a> (@chernobyltour) on Aug 8, 2019 at 11:40am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vitalii Viktorovych Petruk, the head of Ukraine's state agency for the Exclusion Zone, mentioned the popular TV series by name when talking on the decision to open up the site.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The HBO series boosted the interest to Chernobyl. Everybody now wants to see more, and we are going to satisfy the demand."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year alone has seen more than 85,000 visitors flock to the Ukraine to visit the infamous abandoned city.</span></p>

Travel Trouble

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Chernobyl to become an official tourist attraction

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chernobyl has become a hot new destination for tourists after the surging popularity of the show of the same name.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The destination is infamous for an explosion in 1986 at its atomic plant, which sent clouds of nuclear material across Europe. The blast itself killed 30 people immediately and caused environmental repercussions for years to come.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the town has carried negative connotations until the popular show, done by HBO, told the story of what happened before and after the explosion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ukrainian government has decided to take advantage of the fame and has taken it to the next level by approving upgrades to Chernobyl to make it more tourist friendly.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01h6HBAYyO/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01h6HBAYyO/" target="_blank">First trip of 2019 booked: Serbia. Almost a year after Ukraine, which shows I really need to sort my life out and get out more 🗺 . . . . . #kiev #ukraine #travel #travelgram #instatravel #throwback #latergram #yearlatergram #chernobyl #pripyat</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethkatkin/" target="_blank"> Elizabeth Atkin</a> (@elizabethkatkin) on Aug 6, 2019 at 1:44pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the green light for the upgrades, which include new walking trails around the power plant and better phone reception according to </span><a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/travel/2019/07/11/chernobyl-tourism-visit-upgrades/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The New Daily</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Chernobyl has been a negative part of Ukraine’s brand,” </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48943814"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reported Mr Zelensky saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The time has come to change this.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We will create a green corridor for tourists. Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet where nature [has been] reborn after a huge man-made disaster.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have to show this place to the world: to scientists, ecologists, historians [and] tourists.”</span></p>

Travel Trouble

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Australia’s Chernobyl: Why tourists keep heading to this deadly Aussie town

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the region of Pilbara in Western Australia works hard to grow tourism to the area, which has rare flora and fauna as well as rich Indigenous culture, there is one place that the Western Australia government is trying to keep people away from.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The destination is so deadly that the name has been removed from maps and signs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The former country town of Wittenoom lies abandoned as the decaying town is considered the most contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are more than 2,000 deaths linked to the town’s blue asbestos mining operations in the ‘60s.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mining was formally shut down in 1966, but the asbestos fibres left behind have rendered the area permanently unsafe for human habitation according to experts who spoke to </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/australias-most-contaminated-town-wittenoon-abandoned/b7752071-b209-452a-bdfb-442a73b66c25"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Travel Nine.</span></a></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0M1PHJI3mX/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0M1PHJI3mX/" target="_blank">Reports that tourists are visiting Wittenoom - an abandoned, Western Australian town once home to a large blue asbestos mine - are extremely concerning. The town and surrounding areas are still highly contaminated by asbestos - and pose a huge health risk to anyone who visits. The area is so contaminated that it has been dubbed 'Australia's #Chernobyl". It's not worth your health or life for a social media photo. Link in bio to read the story and please - stay away. ☠️☠️☠️ ... ... ... ... #asbestos #asbestosremoval #asbestostesting #asbestossafety #beasbestosaware #wittenoom #blueasbestos #mining #blueskymine #westernaustralia #abandonedtown</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/asbestos_safety/" target="_blank"> Asbestos Safety</a> (@asbestos_safety) on Jul 21, 2019 at 6:24pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The area is so contaminated that it’s been dubbed “Australia’s Chernobyl”. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Lands Ben Wyatt has described the fallout from the contamination as one of “the saddest chapters in WA history” and one the town would never be able to recover from.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It is important to understand that when the Wittenoom mine closed there were 3 million tonnes of asbestos tailings left behind in the gorge and surrounding area," he told </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/australias-most-contaminated-town-wittenoon-abandoned/b7752071-b209-452a-bdfb-442a73b66c25"><span style="font-weight: 400;">9Honey</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Exposure to a single fibre of these tailings could prove fatal. Therefore, as disappointing as it is, it is virtually impossible to clean the area to a level where it would then considered safe for human habitation."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the strict warnings haven’t stopped people from travelling there, despite the well-known and documented risks of asbestos. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Byo_wwpnHiA/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Byo_wwpnHiA/" target="_blank">Wittenoom gorge free camp with @zeke.holt.1 and @megcarmen. Pretty epic spot apart from all the asbestos! 😷</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/emmet_f/" target="_blank"> E.</a> (@emmet_f) on Jun 12, 2019 at 11:52pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wyatt has serious words and a simple message for those who want to visit Wittenoom.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I have a simple message for anyone thinking of travelling to Wittenoom. Don't. These warnings signs are not there for decoration or to add your Instagram collection. They are serious warnings about serious health consequences.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I can't stress enough that it is particularly foolish to travel to Wittenoom. There are plenty of gorges in WA which do not bring with them the threat of a fatal consequences."</span></p>

Domestic Travel

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Why tourists are flocking to Chernobyl

<p><span>Tourists have flocked to the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in droves after the release of a new hit TV show.</span></p> <p><span>The new HBO miniseries <em>Chernobyl</em> has attracted travellers to Pripyat, the Ukrainian ghost city that was evacuated after one of the Chernobyl power plant’s reactors exploded, releasing radiation across a large part of Europe.</span></p> <p><span>Since the show went on air in May, travel interest in the infamous Ukrainian site has surged, according to local travel operators. Reports say demand for tours in the area have increased by up to 40 per cent.</span></p> <p><span>“Most of the people say they decided to book after seeing this show,” Victor Korol, director of tour company SoloEast told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/chernobyl-tv-tourist-attraction/index.html"><em>CNN</em></a>. “It’s almost as though they watch it and then jump on a plane over.”</span></p> <p><span>The five-part HBO show focuses on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear incident, along with the cleanup efforts and the inquiry that followed.</span></p> <p><span>Last April marked the 33<sup>rd</sup> anniversary of the blast, whose radiation fallout was estimated to affect <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20403-how-many-died-because-of-the-chernobyl-disaster-we-dont-really-know/">thousands of people</a>.</span></p> <p><span>However, Korol said Chernobyl is now safe to visit. “It’s the most popular question visitors ask,” said Korol, who has been taking up to 200 visitors to the area on the weekends since the series hit screens. </span></p> <p><span>“But it’s absolutely safe. The government would never allow tourists to come otherwise. The radiation [visitors] are exposed to on a tour is less than on an intercontinental flight.”</span></p> <p><span>According to tour guide Victoria Brozhko, the amount of radiation visitors can expect to get from their excursion to the Chernobyl exclusion zone is similar to the level they would get from “staying at home for 24 hours”.</span></p> <p><span>Craig Mazin, the creator of the <em>Chernobyl </em>series has described his visit to the place as a “religious” experience.</span></p> <p><span>“I’m not a religious man, but that’s as religious as I’ll ever feel,” Mazin told an HBO podcast.</span></p> <p><span>“To walk where they walked felt so strange, and also being under that same piece of sky you start to feel a little closer, in a sense, to who they were.”</span></p> <p><span>However, the behaviour of some other visitors has been met with criticism following the surge of photographs on social media showing tourists posing inappropriately among the ruins. In one picture, a woman could be seen posing on top of an abandoned building in her underwear.</span></p> <p><span>Mazin has urged travellers to behave “with respect” in a Twitter post. “It’s wonderful that #ChernobylHBO has inspired a wave of tourism to the Zone of Exclusion. But yes, I’ve seen the photos going around,” he wrote.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">It's wonderful that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChernobylHBO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChernobylHBO</a> has inspired a wave of tourism to the Zone of Exclusion. But yes, I've seen the photos going around.<br /><br />If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there. Comport yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed.</p> — Craig Mazin (@clmazin) <a href="https://twitter.com/clmazin/status/1138576162781683712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2019</a></blockquote> <p><span>“If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there. Comport yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed.”</span></p>

International Travel

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"Beyond anything you can imagine": The brutal truth of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

<p>The launch of HBO miniseries <em>Chernobyl</em> has once again brought attention to the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Discussions have emerged as to whether the five-part show provided a realistic depiction of the catastrophe.</p> <p>While some details in the story have been contested, most experts and survivors agree that the portrayal of the radiation effects is true to life.</p> <p>Oleksiy Breus was an engineer at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the then-Soviet Union. Following the 1986 explosion at the fourth reactor, he took part in a dangerous operation to drain water from under the power station to prevent further explosion.</p> <p>The 59-year-old told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48580177" target="_blank"><em>BBC</em></a> that the physical impacts of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) were shown well in the series through the character of firefighter Vasily Ignatenko.</p> <p>Breus said he met with shift leader Oleksandr Akimov and operator Leonid Toptunov – both of whom were featured prominently on the show – hours after the incident.</p> <p>“They were not looking good, to put it mildly,” he said. “It was clear they felt sick. They were very pale. Toptunov had literally turned white.”</p> <p>Akimov and Toptunov died two weeks later from ARS. Breus said his other colleagues who worked at the ill-fated night died in hospital after their skin turned to “a bright red colour”.</p> <p>He said, “Radiation exposure, red skin, radiation burns and steam burns were what many people talked about but it was never shown like this. When I finished my shift, my skin was brown, as if I had a proper suntan all over my body. My body parts not covered by clothes – such as hands, face and neck – were red.”</p> <p>This was in line with the testimony from Lyudmilla Ignatenko, wife of the fallen firefighter. In the book <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/apr/25/energy.ukraine" target="_blank">Voices from Chernobyl</a> by Russian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, Lyudmilla said she witnessed her husband’s condition exacerbate as he began experiencing serious diarrhea, hair loss and skin cracking and discolouring.</p> <p>She recalled, “I tell the nurse: ‘He’s dying’. And she says to me: ‘What did you expect? He got 1,600 roentgen. Four hundred is a lethal dose. You're sitting next to a nuclear reactor’.”</p> <p>Archaeologist and Chernobyl expert Robert Maxwell also vouched for the show’s accuracy in showing how nuclear radiation affects the human body.</p> <p>“The skin of the tongue sloughs off; the skin of the body turns black and peels way upon touch... eyes blister. The colon is covered in third degree burns,” Maxwell told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.mamamia.com.au/chernobyl-radiation-poisoning/?utm_source=Mamamia.com.au%20-%20All%20Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=e78d678868-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_06_17_06_53&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9dc62997a2-e78d678868-211561537&amp;mc_cid=e78d678868&amp;mc_eid=c10f87c072" target="_blank"><em>Mamamia</em></a>. “Their depiction of ARS and its treatment during the Soviet 1980s is highly accurate.”</p> <p>The show’s creator Craig Mazin said he and his team took great care to show “total respect” to Vasily and his family in the series.</p> <p>“We had to be really careful in episode three when we showed the final stage of Vasily Ignatenko's body,” Mazin told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/chernobyl-finale-explained-creator-craig-mazin-interview-1215670" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a></em>. “It was the most extreme thing that we showed, and our makeup and prosthetic designer Daniel Parker did a brilliant job — so brilliant, in fact, that there was a concern that we lingered on it a bit.</p> <p>“We shortened that shot by quite a bit, because the last thing we wanted was to feel like we were trading on this man's sad fate for sensationalist points on a TV show. What we wanted was for people to see the truth of what happens…</p> <p>“Those were the things we were dealing with all the time, because that man was a real person, and his wife is still alive, and the last thing we want to do is show anything other than total respect.”</p> <p>134 people were <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18049222" target="_blank">diagnosed with ARS</a> in the aftermath of the explosion. 28 of them died within months.</p> <p>The number of people affected by the disaster remains disputed, with many suspecting that the radiation may be the reason behind other health problems such as cancer and birth defects.</p>

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