Trip to Chernobyl ６ チェルノブイリツアーに参加する６

After visiting radar facility, we arrived at Pripyat and walked around the center. Construction of this city was started in 1970, a new city for workers at the nuclear power plants and their family, is situated in the 4km distance from the power plant. A city with a hospital with high-tech equipment, schools, a supermarket where people came from Kiyv for shopping by driving cars for one and a half hours, a movie theater and a sports center with indoor pool, an amusement park and multistory apartment houses, which the USSR built as a future role model. The average age of the inhabitants was 26, it was a suitable city which represents future. Before the accident the fifth and the sixth reactor were under construction, including the workers that were to work at the new plant, there were almost 50.000 people living in the city.

レーダー見学後は、プリピャチという町を散策する。１９７０年に開発が始められたこの町、原発施設で働く人やその家族のために作られた新しい町で、原発施設から北西４ｋｍに位置し、最新設備が整った病院、学校、キエフ市内から車で一時間半かけて買い物に来る人がいたほど品揃えの豊富なスーパー、映画館にプール付きの屋内スポーツ施設、それに遊園地に高層住宅など、ソ連が未来のモデル都市として開発したところだ。平均年齢が２６歳ほどという、若々しく未来を象徴するのに相応しい町だった。事故前には原子炉の５号機と６号機が建設途中で、そこで働く予定だった人たちも含めて５万人弱が住んでいたそうだ。

Radioactive elements from the reactor were brought toward North and West by the wind. Radiation in the areas which were the passway of these radioactive elements is still very high. The forest in the West of the reactor is called "red forest", trees died and turned into red. In these areas it is not allowed to get off the vehicles, there is a lowest speed limit to avoid being exposed to radiation. We were not able to go there during this tour. Pripyat stands between these areas where radioactive elements flew, many people were able to evacuate in safe. For citizens, it was Kamikaze, the wind blown by God.

原発事故後に舞い上がった放射能物質は風によって北や西の方へと運ばれ、その通り道にあたる区域は今でもツアーバスからの降車厳禁、運転も被爆線量を抑えるためにも通行最低速度が決められている程、今でも放射線量が高い。施設の真西には、森林の木々が枯れ落ちて真っ赤になってしまった赤い森と呼ばれるところがあるが、ここには立ち入り出来なかった。プリピャチはちょうどこの放射能物質の通り道に挟まれたところに存在し、住民たちの多くが無事に避難することができたそうだ。住民たちにとっては神風だったのだ。