The goal of this decontamination is to purify the top 3” of soil which is contaminated by Cesium and Strontium. Deformed vegetable grow in this area. In the first zone there was a village. Elderly residents returned there after about one year. Today the village population is 600. They live well because the state pays for their living expenses.
In December 15, 2000 Chernobyl turned off its last reactor, at the wish of the EU and neighboring states.
Many people lost work, but some stayed to work on decontaminating the premised.

Next sarcophagi concept. ►

5. The political situation

On December 15, 2000 at 1:20 PM Central European Time, the president of Ukraine, Leonid Kucma, obliged the director of the Chernobyl electric plants request, and turned off the last block of the electric plant.
The shutting down of the Chernobyl electric plant received a mixed reaction. Many rioted in Slavityci, a town set up for the evacuated people from the surrounding area of Chernobyl because they lost their jobs. The director of the plant said that of 1000’s of workers, only 800 returned to work to decontaminate the plant. This would take 7 to 8 years. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the repercussions of Chernobyl still effect the Ukraine government and economy. The EU believed the protection of life was the most important issue and they therefore requested that the plant was shut down. In turn, they offered financial assistance to the Ukraine, because the economy was in crises. Many politicians also believed in shutting down the plant.

▲ Leonid Kucma president of Ukraine

6. People from Chernobyl today

After 1 year, many elderly people returned to the area around Chernobyl. Today approximately 600 live there. Why would people want to return to a contamination zone? Maybe because they are old, and they lived their entire lives there. After the disaster, many of these people were scattered with their families around the Soviet Union. The Communist Soviet government didn’t provide housing for the people who were living in the danger zone. Many young people and their families stay a way from Chernobyl. The old people have only maybe 20-25 years, left to live. And they love their homes which happen to border Chernobyl. 7. Geography of Chernobyl

The Chernobyl region is situated between the Carpathians Mountains from west, and Central Russian uplands from the east. Chernobyl is situated in the Ukraine. Ukraine is the second biggest country of Europe, with an area of 603,700 miles. 48 million people reside there.