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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
How safe it is in terms of radiation levels/ to walk about and take photographs?
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The total exposure to radioactive radiation during the whole trip is no more than the amount of radiation you will receive during an (intercontinental) flight. In other words: it's quite safe, although there are some areas like the Red Forest, were the contamination is higher. This is the area were our Geiger counter peaked, and showed a level of radiation of almost 2 rontgen. This is high and a exception, our guide showed us this place while driving through the Red Forest. But this amount lasted only a few seconds and a few meters and dropped very quickly (remember we were driving) so it should be without consequences during the short time we were there. To put these things in perspective: a dose of 500 rontgen received in five hours is lethal.
Most of the contamination can be found in the soil, but some dust and moss show also higher levels of radiation (see picture 24). Therefore it would be wise to avoid the moss, but it's difficult to avoid the dust but as you can see on pic 13, both guys wrapped their trousers so those wouldn't drag through the dust. It is not much, but it wouldn't hurt to take some precautions.
After the visit to to nuclear 30 km zone everybody is being checked. And in this zone, aprox. 3000 people still work. Many of them living in the area, and some working in shifts in which they work, eat and sleep in the place Chernobyl (10 km south of the power plant). The maximum they are allowed to stay in the area is (i believe) 16 days a month.
So, to answer your question: visiting the area is very safe. Go out camping in the Red Forest isn't...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim
Ok, how do I get over there? Is it legally accesible, is it easily accessible? How much does it cost to visit?
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It is very easy accessible, for example (and do not regard this as spam) i booked my trip via
these guys, do not mind the terrible cheap internetsite, this was one of the cheapest i could find and the one with a very quick response. You can find more agencies who can help you, just google around. It isn't cheap, the price depends on the number of people of your group.
Before you go, the agency must have some data like in your passport, and travel info, so the Ukrainian government can check your data and register you as a visitor. Before entering the so called 'zone of Aliennation', a 30 kilometer zone around the powerplant, you must pass a checkpoint. There is a second checkpoint 10 km before the powerplant, and a third one just before Pripyat.
The trip towards Chernobyl and back was taken care of by the travelagency, it's included in the price, and so is a complete (Ukrainian) meal. We were picked up and dropped by our hotel in Kiev.
So, as long as you are willing to pay and to provide the data, it is very easy to visit the area. It is just simple tourism!