The Sarcophagus: Photographs of the Most Radioactive Places in Chernobyl

The design of the old Chernobyl Sarcophagus began barely 24 days after the disaster in April 1986. Ten years later, its deterioration was so advanced that it was declared impossible to repair, leaving only one solution: a mega structure capable of enveloping it completely. Photographer Arkadiusz Podniesinski has been documenting the Chernobyl area for over a decade, and this past July he had the opportunity to photograph some of the most radioactive sectors of the Sarcophagus.

One of the first things we must understand about the original Sarcophagus is that the Chernobyl liquidators built it in 200 days, under essentially lethal conditions. However, the need to accelerate the timeline caused sealing and stability problems, so the structure was always at risk.

The New Chernobyl Sarcophagus is, in a word, impressive. It stands 110 meters tall and could cover the Statue of Liberty. Photographer Arkadiusz Podniesinski recently got the chance to visit it after the French contractors in charge of its construction completed the transfer of ownership.

The simple act of approaching the wall of the old sarcophagus (whose demolition will begin soon) triggered the dosimeter alarms, registering 200 microsieverts per hour, a thousand times higher than normal radiation levels. The only places where even higher levels can be recorded are inside the old sarcophagus itself, under the reactor in rooms penetrated by melted nuclear fuel, or in small remains still scattered in the area.

An employee named Aleksander Kupnyi explored the interior in the '90s and obtained truly disturbing images of the damage. Podniesinski visited the control room, the central reactor hall, the pump room, and the SKALA monitoring system, where he found dozens of computers and tape storage. That was more than decent technology in 1986, but today they are museum pieces.

Finally, he reached the control room of Unit 4. That is where everything went to hell on April 26, 1986. It is almost destroyed, with much of its equipment removed (the photographer speculates it was reused, or 'extracted' as souvenirs), and very high radiation levels despite cleanup efforts.

Back outside, he decided to visit the Buriakivka repository, where thousands of tons of radioactive waste were buried. Very close by there is a vehicle cemetery. Tanks, cars, aircraft fuselages and helicopters, and even the remains of several robots that took part in the Chernobyl cleanup ended up there. Radiation? 200 microsieverts per hour, the same level as on the outside of the old sarcophagus.

Source: PetaPixel

The Photographs