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For many, the name Chernobyl is synonymous with disaster and deadly destruction.
But the site of the nuclear accident in the then Soviet Union on April 26, 1986 has become one of Ukraine’s most popular tourist attractions, drawing around 124,000 tourists a year, and the government now wants to put Chernobyl on the List. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko says it would increase tourism and make the closed area a monument that can warn humanity of future nuclear accidents.
– The area should and should be open to visitors, but it should be more than an adventurous destination, he says.
The government hopes to be ready with its proposal in the spring, but the decision may be delayed until 2023.
After the collapse in 1986 Three reactors at the nuclear power plant continued to produce electricity until 2000, which will be held in Ukraine on Tuesday’s anniversary.
The work of putting the area on the UNESCO list has become a priority since work on a giant metal dome was completed in 2016 and then placed over the accident-prone reactor.
The metal dome will protect Europa from radioactive fallout for the next 100 years and will also reduce radioactive radiation in the immediate area.
Tkachenko now says he expects about a million visitors a year.
– Before, everyone was busy with the metal dome. Now the time has come for this, he says.
Maksim Polivko works as guide in the so-called closed zone around Chernobyl, where old Soviet buildings were surrounded by nature and endangered species were established after the accident
– The Chernobyl zone is already a world-famous landmark, he says, adding that he hopes that a change in status for the area will mean that historic sites can be better cared for.
– All these elements require some maintenance.
