Tours and visits to Chornobyl

The April 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture.

The accident destroyed the Chornobyl 4 reactor, killing 30 operators and firemen within three months and several further deaths later. One person was killed immediately and a second died in hospital soon after as a result of injuries received. Another person is reported to have died at the time from a coronary thrombosis. Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) was originally diagnosed in 237 people on-site and involved with the clean-up and it was later confirmed in 134 cases. Of these, 28 people died as a result of ARS within a few weeks of the accident. Nineteen more workers subsequently died between 1987 and 2004, but their deaths cannot necessarily be attributed to radiation exposure. Nobody off-site suffered from acute radiation effects although a significant, but uncertain, fraction of the thyroid cancers diagnosed since the accident in patients who were children at the time are likely to be due to intake of radioactive iodine fallout. Furthermore, large areas of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and beyond were contaminated to varying degrees.

The Chornobyl disaster was a unique event and the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power where radiation-related fatalities occurred. The design of the reactor is unique and in that respect, the accident is thus of little relevance to the rest of the nuclear industry outside the then Eastern Bloc. However, it led to major changes in safety culture and in industry cooperation, particularly between East and West before the end of the Soviet Union. Former President Gorbachev said that the Chornobyl accident was a more important factor in the fall of the Soviet Union than Perestroika – his program of liberal reform.

What should I do, if I want to visit the Chornobyl exclusion zone?

You need to choose the date of your tour and send an EMAIL with your passports attached, type of tour, and the number of participants. Please note that the permits processing time is about 6 working days. So, stay on the safe side and book your tour in advance.

Is it safe to go to Chornobyl?

All tour roots are far away from badly contaminated areas, therefore the personal irradiation dose received during one day in the zone is 2 microsieverts. It’s equal to a 1-hour flight and 3000 times less than a CT scan.

What kind of document is needed for the tour?

It is obligatory to have your passport with you (NOT ID!) (the data of which you sent us). It is impossible to enter the zone without your passport. We are not responsible for your failure to enter the zone because of the wrong passport number/name/ date of birth/ nationality or a wrong passport on the day of the trip. If you changed your passport number or name after registration for a tour, please let us know about it not later than one week before the date of your tour.

What should I wear in the zone?

You don't need any special outfit, but please dress appropriately and cover all skin apart from your hands and face. No sandals, shorts, or T-shirts are allowed. Mind weather conditions as well. Ukrainian winters are very severe. It’s highly recommended to all of you to bring as many layers as you can. Hat/gloves is a mandatory thing to have on the trip! With 10 inches of snow everywhere, warm trousers and high boots will make your trip a lot more comfortable. Very often people underestimate the weather and can`t experience the zone properly simply because they freeze once they come out of the van. But Ukrainian summers are rather hot. Please make sure you have got enough water to drink. We recommend you to have a sunhat with you as we spend a lot of time in the sun. And last, but not least is a repellent. There are a lot of annoying mosquitoes in the zone.

Are there any restrictions on taking photos in the zone?

Photo and Video in the zone are allowed with a few exceptions: - you are not allowed to take photos of the police officers, checkpoints, and security installations. Photos in the industrial site of the ChNPP are allowed only in certain directions. Drone shooting requires special permission. Due to the unstable situation in the country, the Chornobyl department of the security service of Ukraine suspended the issuance of permits for an indefinite period of time.