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People in the Exclusion Zone

Population

This image portrays a photographer in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone using a dosimeter to measure the radiation. Current radiation levels still far exceed healthy doses yet this does not dissuade the regions settlers.

The 30 km zone is estimated to be home to 197 samosely living in an estimated 162 villages throughout the exclusion zone as well as in the town of Chernobyl. These residents are senior citizens, with most in their 70s and 80s, and the majority of them are women. These elders are the sole remaining figures of a generation who illegally and defiantly snuck back into their homes, unwilling to leave behind their past lives. Since many had been relocated to living in urban housing projects, some feel as though the air and land quality within the exclusion zone is actually superior to highly inhabited areas. The number of residents in the zone continues to decline as the elders age and pass away. Despite repeated attempts at expulsion, the authorities have had no success removing the settlers and have come to accept their presence and allowed them to stay with limited supporting services. Residence is now informally permitted by the Ukrainian government, who figures that since the inhabitants will perish soon they may as well be allowed to live where they want.

Those who were forced to evacuate Pripyat and nearby villages were told they would return shortly, and were forced to leave all of their belongings behind, unaware that they would never be permitted to return. The exclusion zone is thus filled with remnants of a lost civilization, including homes filled with personal and household items. Pripyat is a ghost town, the most obvious remnant of its past inhabitants a large ferris wheel that has not yet corroded. A substantial portion of those evacuated were relocated to concrete tower blocks where they were forced to live, having no other options.

Many of the current citizens scaled barbed wire or hid in bushes to avoid the authorities and returned to their homes shortly after they were evacuated despite the repeated warnings about the risks of exposure to radiation. Since many had survived the hardships of famine and war, they did not feel the need to run from an invisible enemy. Others returned years later and were allowed in by the militia, rebuilding their empty and collapsing houses to reclaim their old lives. To survive the settlers grow crops in small gardens or go hunting for their food. Potatoes, able to grow well in the climate and soil, are the main source of food for the samosely.

One of the villages 8 miles from the reactor, Parishev, is occupied by three senior citizens- one man and two women; it once had a population of 600. There are also new members desperate to escape conflict and poverty in Ukraine who are moving to abandoned areas just outside of the exclusion zone, as house owners are listing their properties for prices as low as a couple hundred dollars .

Maintenance

Over time, the military has destroyed entire villages within the zone under the assumption that they are uninhabited and therefore serve no purpose. The earth is sprayed with water so that the radioactive dust from the destroyed buildings will not be able to travel away from the burial site. Holes are dug next to the buildings, then the scraps are buried and covered with soil, creating barren fields where there was once active villages. Soldiers were forced to bury the homes where their friends and family had resided. One 15 year old, Vassia Mikoulitch, could even recount how his school and home were buried along with his possessions, leaving just a field in the village square.

Approximately 3,000 people work in the Zone of Alienation on various tasks, such as the construction of the New Safe Confinement, the ongoing decommissioning of the reactors, and assessment and monitoring of the conditions in the zone. Employees do not live inside the zone, but work shifts there. Some of the workers inside the zone periodically check on the residents by taking samples of the soil they live on, the crops they grow, and the water they drink, to determine the ever changing radioactivity they are being exposed to. Some of the workers work "4-3" shifts (four days on, three off), while others work 15 days on, 15 off. Other workers commute into the zone daily from Slavutych. The duration of shifts is counted strictly for reasons involving pension and healthcare. Everyone employed in the Zone is monitored for internal bioaccumulation of radioactive elements. When individuals enter the zone, they cross a border where they have their passport and radiation levels checked.

Chernobyl town, located outside of the 10 km Exclusion Zone, was evacuated following the accident, but now serves as a base to support the workers within the Exclusion Zone. It's amenities include administrative buildings, general stores, a canteen, a hotel, and a bus station. Unlike other areas within the Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl town is actively maintained by workers, such as lawn areas being mowed and autumn leaves being collected.

Controversy

This image shows an abandoned doll left in the ruins of the Kopachi Village in northern Ukraine. This is just one of many relics left behind by families in each village throughout the exclusion zone.

Though the area has been split into four zones depending on the danger of living in each, individuals living in the fourth zone, the lowest risk locations, are still at risk of dangerous radiation exposure, and some suffer from health defects. Students attending schools in Zone 4 previously had their meals provided by the Ukrainian government to ensure that they were free of radiation, but the collapse of the Ukrainian economy has forced the termination of this program, leaving children in some 1,300 villages to risk consuming local food . A number of other safety programs have been terminated, including the periodic monitoring of radiation content in the soil and and food as well as the distribution of Prussian Blue, a chemical that reduces cesium levels in cattle, to farmers in the area. Many individuals living in the zone consider themselves forgotten, abandoned by their government and a world who has moved long past the Chernobyl tragedy. In Briansk, Russia, where many whole families with children lived after the explosion, a dosimeter reading showed radiation levels 300 times higher than the officially allowed levels.

The overall effects of radiation on the health of those who choose to live in the exclusion zone is still heavily debated. Scientists are attempting to determine the hotspots within the exclusion zone that pose the greatest health risks to residents who would choose to live there. Testing on nuts, berries, and mushrooms grown within the exclusion zone have been found to possess 2 to 5 times the exposure amount considered safe. Even grass consumed by cows outside the exclusion zone have contained radioactivity that is detected in the milk that the cows produce, raising even more questions about how far from Chernobyl it is truly safe to live. Some studies determine that the radioactivity would not increase the risk of any cancer other than that in the thyroid, but other studies have demonstrated respiratory issues in children growing up within the zone. Another study by the Chernobyl Center for Nuclear Safety and others concluded that government projects like the disposal of contaminated water and the conduction of forestry as well as natural processes like decay have greatly lowered the radiation levels in some areas of the zone. However, they do not explicitly state that any area of the zone is safe for habitation.

Despite all of the radiation warnings, anecdotal evidence suggests that those living in the zone may actually live longer than their peers who were evacuated and did not return. The reason for this is not yet known. Some, like the director of the documentary The Babushkas of Chernobyl, Holly Morris, believe this may be because those living in the zone retain much higher levels of happiness since they never suffered the stress and trauma of relocation from their homes. Those who did not return suffered higher levels of alcoholism and unemployment.