I know I want to do the Chernobyl / Pripyat tour. I've been to Europe about 8 or 9 times now but have never managed to make it there.

For anyone who's interested in the whole story, I recommend Chernobyl Notebook by Grigoriy Medvedev - one of the senior nuclear engineering people at the time. It not only goes into the physics and engineering of what happened, but also the politics and how that affected the response. Grim but fascinating on all levels.

I used to be involved in import/export.  For years (possibly still now) we had to supply a radiation certificate for food ingredients derived from green crops grown in Europe, stuff like spinach powder used in making pasta.

None really. Just something that happened.

A friend of mine had some issues with fallout on their farm in Cumbria that meant their sheep got bought by the government and destroyed for a few years. Other than that it was merely part of the background of the Cold War we lived with every day. We were still expecting the Reds over the Rhine at at any moment and the BAOR was still a huge thing, so this was nothing other than another event, really.

http://kommersant.ru/projects/chernobyl/en

good read with photos

I watched this the other day: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1992193/

A documentary in favour of nuclear power.  But in part of it they took readings from all over the place - including Cherobyl.  And at one point they showed the background radiation on a beach in Brazil was 10ish time higher than in Chernobyl.  Interesting doco all the same.

sbiddle:

 

I know I want to do the Chernobyl / Pripyat tour. I've been to Europe about 8 or 9 times now but have never managed to make it there.

 

I hope you manage to get there. That new containment structure being built to cover the destroyed reactor would be one hell of a sight to see in real life!

Apparently it will take up to 100 years to fully dismantle the reactor and surrounding structures.

For those who do not know - Chernobyl is in Ukrain.

In the Russian Far East metservice was always reporting daily on the Radiation Background. We leaved under understanding that nuke subs are not that far away.

Interactive map has been published in Russian Sources showing the introduction and decommisioning of the nuclear power stations around the world - power/country/years: Russia, USA, Canada, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan:

http://chernobyl.lenta.ru/

Location of nuclear power stations around the world:

Glad the right bottom corner of the map has no yellow dots (working stations).

Article suggests that after Fukushima disaster many countries have reconsidered the introduction of new stations and overal attitude of people in the world towards nuclear power stations has changed dramatically.

I remember well and it changed my view of these abominations forever

RUKI:

 

For those who do not know - Chernobyl is in Ukrain.

 

In the Russian Far East metservice was always reporting daily on the Radiation Background. We leaved under understanding that nuke subs are not that far away.

 

Interactive map has been published in Russian Sources showing the introduction and decommisioning of the nuclear power stations around the world - power/country/years: Russia, USA, Canada, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan:

 

http://chernobyl.lenta.ru/

 

 

Location of nuclear power stations around the world:

 

 

Glad the right bottom corner of the map has no yellow dots (working stations).

 

Article suggests that after Fukushima disaster many countries have reconsidered the introduction of new stations and overal attitude of people in the world towards nuclear power stations has changed dramatically.

 

 

 

 

 

The UK is in the process of commissioning a new one.

Wasn't Chernobyl a fast breeder?  Where the Americans use the other style (can't remember the name)  - The differences that fast breeders produce plutonium 235 as a byproduct and much less waste.  The other ones with the control rods produce a lot more waste but are "easier" to control.

The control rod style hasn't really changed since they put it in first for Subs - so they're thinking that a reactor redesign might be in order.  That doco - was a bunch on anti nuke activists that have since changed their opinion to prefer nuclear over burning fossil fuel type power generation in a absence of being able to convert completely to renewable.