Global InformationChernobyl exclusion zone information
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Зона відчуження Чорнобильської АЕС (Ukrainian) Zone of Alienation, 30-kilometre Zone | |
|---|---|
Exclusion zone and disaster area | |
 The entrance to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone at Checkpoint "Dytiatky" | |
| Etymology: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the disaster | |
 Chernobyl zonal boundaries (red) | |
  Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Location of the exclusion zone in Kyiv Oblast  Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Location of the exclusion zone in Ukraine | |
| Coordinates: 51°18′00″N 30°00′18″E / 51.3°N 30.005°E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblasts | Kyiv Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast |
| Raions | Vyshhorod Raion Korosten Raion |
| Founded | 27 April 1986 (current borders established circa 1997) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 180 samosely[1] For others the Exclusion Zone is an "Area of Absolute (Mandatory) Resettlement". Employees of state agencies are resident in the Zone on a temporary basis.[2][3] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | dazv.gov.ua |
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation[a] is an officially designated exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster.[4]: p.4–5 : p.49f.3 It is also commonly known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-Kilometre Zone, or simply The Zone.[4]: p.2–5 [b]
Established by the Soviet Armed Forces soon after the 1986 disaster, it initially existed as an area of 30 km (19 mi) radius from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant designated for evacuation and placed under military control.[5][6] Its borders have since been altered to cover a larger area of Ukraine. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone borders a separately administered area, the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve, to the north in Belarus. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is managed by an agency of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, while the power plant and its sarcophagus (and replacement) are administered separately.
The Exclusion Zone covers an area of approximately 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi)[7] in Ukraine immediately surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant where radioactive contamination is highest and public access and habitation are restricted. Other areas of compulsory resettlement and voluntary relocation not part of the restricted Exclusion Zone exist in the surrounding areas and throughout Ukraine.[8] In February 2019 it was revealed that talks were underway to redraw the boundaries of the Exclusion Zone to reflect the declining radioactivity of the Zone's outer areas.[9]
The Exclusion Zone's purpose is to restrict access to hazardous areas, reduce the spread of radiological contamination, and conduct radiological and ecological monitoring activities.[10] Today, the Exclusion Zone is one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the world and draws significant scientific interest for the high levels of radiation exposure in the environment, as well as increasing interest from tourists.[11][12] The zone has become a thriving sanctuary with natural flora and fauna with some of the highest biodiversity and thickest forests in all of Ukraine. This is due to the lack of human activity in the Exclusion Zone and is despite the radiation.[13]
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was the site of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces during the capture of Chernobyl on 24 February 2022, and during its eventual liberation during a Ukrainian counterattack two months later, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14] The exclusion zone remains closed to tourists pending the eventual cessation of hostilities in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Geographically, it includes the northernmost part of Vyshhorod Raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast (region) and the northeasternmost part of Korosten Raion in Zhytomyr Oblast of Ukraine.
- ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim. "Why a babushka in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone refuses to leave home". USA TODAY.
- ^ "Чернобыльскую зону "захватывают" самоселы". Ura-inform.com. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ "Секреты Чернобыля - "Самоселы"". Chernobylsecret.my1.ru. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ a b Petryna, Adriana (2002). Life Exposed: Biological Citizens after Chernobyl. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09019-1.
- ^ Marples, David R. (1988). The Social Impact of the Chernobyl Disaster. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-02432-1.
- ^ Mould, R. F. (2000). Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe. Bristol, UK: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7503-0670-6.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Oskolkovetalwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Zoning of radioactively contaminated territory of Ukraine according to actual regulations". ICRIN. 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ Chernobyl: The end of a three-decade experiment BBC News. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ "Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 393/2011 On approval of the State Agency of Ukraine of the Exclusion Zone". State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "Postcard from hell". The Guardian. 18 October 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ Canales, Katie. "A photographer visited the abandoned towns around Chernobyl more than 20 times over the past 25 years, and the captivating photos show just how suddenly time stopped in its tracks after the disaster". Business Insider.
- ^ "How Chernobyl has become an unexpected haven for wildlife". UNEP. 16 September 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
DohertySaricwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).