Pripyat - A Brief Subjective Perspective of Home

Rannebergen and Pripyat, or the other way around?

I travel a lot. Or at least I try to do it as much as I can, because having spent over 25 years in the same vincinity started to take its toll already several years ago. My family moved to Mölndal, the nearest town south of Gothenburg, when I was five years old and thus I grew up in the surroundings of Gothenburg.

When I left my parents' home to live on my own, I ended up in a concrete block, where I still reside. Being a student at that time, I never found the time to make myself a proper home, but this was a place to study and to sleep. Eventually I came to greatly dislike this place, spare for in summer time, because in the summer, it's truly beautiful here with the forest, lakes and ..swamps. If you bother to walk further into the woods.

I always loved traveling and as soon as I was old enough to go on my own, I did. In the beginning I would return to my home with a sense of excitement and joy from the new impressions, because of that home is sweet home. August 2003 was the last time I sensed that feeling. Nothing happened - time just caught up with me and I realized I didn't like it here and since then I've returned to this city, from every journey, not thinking "home sweet home" but rather "not again..."

My return from Ukraine and the Zone in May this year happened during a rainy night. It was dark and cloudy. The next day, when visiting my mother, I saw the wind tear the trees just like that day in the Jupiter plant. There was no thunder but it was almost the same. Or was it just that my mind hadn't left the Zone? It felt surprisingly nice to be back. A few days later, it struck me why. I was on the bus, approaching my block on the hill, almost covered by trees and growth, and I was made aware of how it all resembled Pripyat. Whilst still in Ukraine, I published this video. One friend gave his feedback: "It looks like Angered" (Rannebergen is in the Angered region) and another one said "I thought it was Mölndal" but not until weeks later I understood what they meant.

What happened to me in the Zone?

Did anything at all happen? If so, I didn't notice it. It felt quite natural for me to be there, especially in Pripyat. There was nothing threatening about these old, decaying buildings; nothing fearsome. On the contrary, it was all very peaceful. In my  travel report I've mentioned how I deliberately avoided sticking to our group. This was because that I wanted to explore and examine the Zone without any cameras clicking around me all the time. I wanted to feel it. And I did. Through each building I went through on my own, images became clearer. But always interrupted. We must move on.

And that's another reason why I must get back there. I haven't seen half of it. And every day that I return to my concrete block on this hill, I'm reminded of it. 

The Complexity of Chernobyl; the Zounds of the Zone

Trying to perform research about Chernobyl on a deeper level is not as easy as it might appear, especially not once you have been in the Zone.

Already before I left Sweden for Ukraine and Chernobyl, I experienced certain difficulties in finding the information and answers to my questions that I needed and required to add to the full picture. The first problem was finding out correct data about the average levels of radiation in different parts of the Zone. I had been told that the levels were "almost normal", but why should I believe that? I risked appearing like an anxious idiot, and still wonder how the request of correct information can be mistaken for such a thing. When finally finding some relatively up-to-date numbers, I could only sneer at the previous statement of "almost normal" readings. 

I have learnt that some people tend to follow the trend of mistaking "not lethal" for "almost normal". A one time tourist joining in for a day-trip on a bus  ride arranged by a Kiev hotel may get away with that kind of arrogance, but for those who feel the call to return more than once, greater measures of caution and respect are recommended to be taken. - The radiation isn't only in the air - it's everywhere. 

When I finally entered the Zone, I pretty soon got to see for myself that the levels of radiation naturally vary, depending on where you are, but I also realized the danger of getting used to the numbers displayed on the geiger counter. Us Swedes are great with radiation, inventing measures for Roentgen, Sieverts and so on ,and living in Sweden,  I also receive about 1000 - 4000 μSv/year. The average dose for a person  living in Australia or the U.S is between 1500 - 3000 μSv a year. Compare this with the geiger counter giving you readings of  2, 5 or 14 μSv/hour, you may realize it's not lethal, but it's far from healthy in the long run. The point is that there are no constant numbers, and you should watch out where you're going, rather than believe the numbers someone have published, or for that matter get blinded by the geiger counter, because you will get used to it. Stay aware.

During the expedition, I lost count of how many times I faced contraditions to what I thought I knew by asking "But I thought/heard that..." -The official statements are for the public and for the journalists to provide to the public, but in the Zone, you get to see another view of it all; that's it's by far not so much under control as the public statements want you to believe, and when understanding that the 90 percents of the iceberg are there, you quickly realize that you can only imagine 10 percents of it all.

"Ukraine has finally received enough money to proceed working on the New Safe Confinement (NSC)"

"They keep running into problems. Whilst working, they can suddenly run into heavily radioactive obstacles, and how to remove it raise new problems."

 "Moving the NSC into place will cause vibrations that will stir up radioactive dust. In itself it's a hazard."

 Then what to believe? -We're facing a problem larger than most people imagine, and the controversies outside, contra inside the Zone, doesn't make anything easier: Whilst some are optimistic about the NSC, believing that during the 100 years it's supposed to last, we will have developed the technology to get rid of the radioactive dust of the Sarcophagus, constantly acumulating, into safe storage, others are against the disassemblance of the broken chimney of Reactor 4, as it in their opinion would destroy the monument of the disaster.

The above mentioned are more or less public matters. Let's move in closer to the Zone. Let's go past Reactor 4 and into Pripyat and its surroundings. Let's re-enter the Jupiter factory, where they once produced tape recorders, and other electronic gear.

When entering the Jupiter factory, I was told it was perfectly safe, but only a few weeks after I had returned to Sweden I was warned about this place:

"Do not go into those places without wearing at least a respiratory mask."

"The water is highly radioactive"

 We have only pieces of information contradicting each other all the time, and that's a reason good enough for anyone interested enough to go there and see with own eyes rather than believe what other people say. Everyone have a different view on this, and focus on different things, but the only way to find out, is to find out by yourselves. I want the entire truth, but still - dont believe everything you read here, because I might be wrong. 

Concerning the Zone only one thing is certain - radiation.. 

 

Jupiter revisited; Radiation and Contamination. About risks and precautions

I have twice before mentioned the Jupiter factory. Once, for a brief update concerning its operations, and once in my Chernobyl journal , where you can read about my actual visit to the Jupiter plant. 

There are parts of the Jupiter experience that I left out for certain reasons. -I'm sure that most of you will understand when I say that I don't want any thieves, looters or the judgementless kind of Urban Explorers to come here, read the details about places in the zone and then use the information to cause damage and destruction, or meddling with things they cannot control. An example of such a thing is the firefighter's helmet I told you about (also in the journal). Highty contaminated, it's been removed from its original location in the hospital's basement, along with other, just as contaminated, items.

Removing items like this helmet, isn't just hazardous, but also a crime against ethics, which gives me the opinion that whomever that may play carelessly with fire, deserve getting burnt, and trust me - radiation burns. 

Still it's one thing to cause stupidity-induced harm to oneself, and another thing to indulge in actions that may cause harm to others as well. I've already mentioned the laboratories of the Jupiter factory, and without revealing their location, posted photos here and here. As a comment to the first of these photos, I state that "it's pretty much intact", but this was before I communicated with someone who've been there previously; someone who obviously knows more about the place, and who took greater precautions of protection before entering this place.

Here's a modified quotation of the words told, in order to not reveal the location of this place. Unless you're on a serious research mission, do not try to find the laboratories of Jupiter:

"This part of the factory is contaminated since 2009, after we wrote about the black box with granulate like stuff inside (someone spread it out). We detected high levels of alpha radiation, and maybe plutonium traces in this box. Some months later I was there one more time but I wouldnt go down there anymore without a breathing mask and overall security clothing.  This is really dangerous. About beta radiation, we don't need to talk - it's all full of it. We had secure clothes but were still contaminated. The water on the floor is also high radioactive. One step in and you can say bye bye to your shoes."

Now, this is only the words of one person. I have no real reason to doubt the truth in them, as this is a highly likely state of conditions, but still I need others to confirm it. If you have been in the labs of the factory, you know where  they are and where this water is, and if so - I would be very grateful if you shared more information with me.

Concerning the Jupiter factory

During my time in the zone, I never found out about the exact form of activity run in the Jupiter factory after the nuclear disaster in 1986. Before the disaster, the Jupiter factory was a manufacturer of tape recorders, but unlike almost all other places in Pripyat, Jupiter wasn't permanently abandoned after the disaster. As most of the information concerning this factory remain classified, I do not know when the new group of personnel first occupied the premises of this complex, but their work proceeded till 1996.

The secret activities have puzzled me ever since out visit there on the 25th of May this year, as I became aware of the not obvious to find laboratories still full of chemicals, of which some are highly radioactive, and special storage cases for radioactive substances. Today I found out, thanks to Alexandr Rybak, technical director of Pripyat.com that the Jupiter factory became the site for unoffical radiology laboratories dedicated to testing different decontamination techniques and dozimetric equipment.

There have been many theories about the operations in the Jupiter factory after 1986; some of them may be more sensible than others, but currently there seem to be no way to find out the absolute truth.