Monument in honour of the liquidators
English
On the NPP observation deck the monument in honour of the liquidators, who eliminated the consequences of the
Chernobyl Disaster.
The viewpoint is located right in front of the fourth reactor covered under the new Sarcophagus - new safe confinement, and you will be as close to it, as if you could touch it.
The monument was erected in 2006, depicts protecting hands around reactor building with ringing bell above the scene. Around it, there are marble boards with text in 4 languages:
"TO HEROES, PROFESSIONALS, TO THOSE WHO PROTECTED THE WORLD FROM NUCLEAR DISASTER.
IN HONOUR OF 20th ANNIVERSARY OF SHELTER OBJECT CONSTRUCTION."
The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear catastrophe in history. Now the deserted station is surrounded by Zone of Exclusion 30 kilometres radius. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was called the symbol of Soviet Unions technological
achievement. The electricity, generated here, was used by more then two millions of Ukrainians. The fourth reactor was working for only 3 years, when it suddenly exploded at April, 26 in 1986. The explosion threw 8 tons of radioactive fuel into the atmosphere.
The firefighters from the NPP and from Pripyat (the nearest city), extinguished a fire, didn't know the real reasons of it, so they weren't adequately protected from radiation. Most of them died in next few monthes. They were buried in zink coffins and their graves were concreted to avoid the spread of radiation from their corpses. In total, 240,000 people participated in the liquidation of the disaster consequences in the first two years and 600,000 in the subsequent.
The inhabitants of 30 kilometres radius areas were also evacuated, some villages were eradicated. The district was named Zone of Exclusion.
The Chernobyl nuclear power station was finally shut down only in 2000. Pripyat became the ghost-city, and now is slowly destroing. Some countries refused using the nuclear energy after the Chernobyl catastrophe.
sources: oddviser.com, own visit and photos