To not want my husband to visit and tour Chernobyl

[Elephant07]

Given the radiation risk.
Is it safe? Thoughts please...

I would love to go too,it's safe and an amazing opportunity.

YABU.
It is safe to visit for a short time.
I've been there.
The trip runs by coach from Kiev city centre.
Take about 2 hours to get there.
Visitors are only in Pripyat and near Chernobyl for 2 -3 hours in total.

The impact on children has been devastating.

50 voluntary emergency workers died.

9 children have had a form of cancer directly attributable to the accident

The local population will have an increase in cancer rate of 3%, over their lifetime -( keep in mind most of the worlds populations have a 25% chance of cancer over their lifetime)

TBH I don't understand why anyone would want to visit the site of such a disaster

I would consider it a site of amazing heroism.

I would love to go

How much does it cost?

you have given me ideas!

I'd love to go.

All research suggests that the areas they use for touring is safe for a few days.

Also visiting a site of such a disaster I think it could help you see what it was like before and after, to learn about the history etc. It's not like you're visiting places with dead bodies scattered everywhere.

I also would love to visit Japan (though obviously not Hiroshima) and other places with interesting history.

Not specifically Hiroshima*

Its reasonably safe so long as you don't disturb surfaces and stir up dust with radioactive particles and as long as you don't consume anything that was local to the site (no well water, no veggies, no meat from animals there - though meat is probably the safest of the list). It would be fascinating for a short day visit, I wouldn't want to spend too much time there, kinda like Las Vegas - 24 hours there and done!

My DH went and loved it. Tours are well organised. DH is in to urban exploration and concrete. Took loads of photos. He enjoyed the cheap vodka in Kiev as well.

The maximum time you can spend in Pripyat and near Chernobyl is 2-3 hours. Any longer than that is not allowed. All trips are tightly regulated. The whole region is guarded around the perimeter and you have to go through checkpoints to go in and when leaving.

Hiroshima is a lovely city to visit and very safe. A real foodie haven. Loved it.

A visit to Pripyat and Chernobyl was around 100 euros in 2013. I forget what that is in gryvnias, I always convert it back to euros in my head.

It's easy to find info about visiting online.

I would love to go, sounds brilliant to me.

I think it’s in poor taste as a tourist activity myself, but not dangerous.

Do they still have to hose Kiev down twice a day because of radioactive dust?

Ukraine is not a wealthy country. A lot of people there are poor. Trips to Pripyat and Chernobyl provide jobs and income for people. Some good might as well come out of the disaster.

No they do not need to hose down Kiev. Never seen it happen and I lived there for 3 months.

My dad's visited there - it's fine, plenty of people have passed through there in recent years. It is a fascinatingly creepy place - my dad took pics of empty towerblocks that still have Soviet insignia on their roof!

The hosing down of Kiev only happened in the days following the disaster.

Notevilstepmother
I think it’s in poor taste as a tourist activity myself, but not dangerous.

Why would it be in poor taste? Do you say the same about Ground Zero or any of the concentration camps? It is hardly a place to go on a jolly, it's a guided tour. Or should noone be interested in ever finding out about things on the site they happened?

My husband works in a nuclear power station and he would probably jump at a chance to go and actually tour chernobyl from an engineering point of view.

What about the tour guides and the coach drivers? Are they suited up because they go so often?

And has been pointed out, of course they know if its safe. That's what geiger counters are for, all nuclear professionals wear them every day at work to measure dosage and there are strict limits on how much you can be exposed to daily/monthly etc.

It's fine.

I would love to visit one day. I find it fascinating.

Not everyone in a nuclear site has to be in haz mat suits. It all depends on dosage etc. Radiation disperses (which is why the UK site alarms were going nuts in the hours after Chernobyl started) so after a while the air radiation levels return to vaguely normal.

Going on a transatlantic flight is the equivalent of a chest x-ray in terms of radiation. So unless that bothers you I wouldn’t be too bothered.

Also not on the same level but the high levels of radon in Cornwall mean the population gets bigger levels off radiation than he rest of the country and they actually have lower rates of cancer.

It is safe as long as he is going with a reputable tour company. The major risk is potential ingestion/inhalation of radioactive dusts so he should make sure he doesn't stray of the tour routes and maintains good hygiene.