Italian
It was the night between April 25 and 26 when reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was destroyed by a series of explosions during a safety test. But the world learned about it 2 days later
At the time of the accident, on April 26, 1986, the nuclear power plant was an integral part of the energy and defense system of the USSR. Today, Chernobyl is located in Ukraine, an independent state, under Russian attack for 4 years.
The explosion at Chernobyl occurred on April 26, 1986 at 1:23 AM. Despite the immediate devastation, the news spread worldwide only on April 28, 1986, when Swedish detectors recorded high levels of radioactivity, forcing the USSR to admit the disaster, widely reported by Italian media from April 29 onwards.
For months and months, amidst fear and dismay, pain and anger, nothing else was spoken of. People stopped eating fruit, vegetables, and fresh milk. All the supplies, all the canned food, everything that had been produced before the terrible incident was quickly depleted. And potassium iodide, considered an antidote to radiation exposure, was massively administered to children, especially in the areas surrounding the disaster.
40 years later
Today, in Chernobyl, there are still signs of the past, but nature has reclaimed its place. The exclusion zone surrounding the nuclear power plant has become a wild area, where animals like wolves, deer, and bears roam freely. The roads and houses have been abandoned, leaving the memory of the inhabitants who once lived there intact.
Nature has proven to be incredibly resilient and has begun to reclaim the territory. The exclusion zone, which was once a dead zone, is now an oasis of wildlife.
The abandoned houses, schools, hospitals, and factories are still there, intact. This testifies to the impact that the incident had on the people who lived there.
Today Chernobyl has become a tourist destination: brief to avoid being exposed to ionizing radiation for too long. Although the tourist areas are safe for short visits, staying near reactor 4 can cause acute radiation syndrome. Long-term risks include thyroid cancers, leukemias, and diseases of the digestive or cardiovascular systems.
