My final day in Chernobyl (and Ukraine) started grey and drizzly. M had scheduled a tour for me inside the Chernobyl Power Plant, but it didn’t start until mid-morning, so we went exploring Chernobyl Town (for which the power plant was named). The town is Continue reading “Site 176: Chernobyl (Day 4)”
My third day in the exclusion zone started bright and sunny. Today we were headed to the Duga-1 radar array, also known as the Russian Woodpecker. It was built in 1976 as a way to detect any missles that might come over the horizon from the U.S. Now, satellite Continue reading “Site 175: Chernobyl (Day 3)”
Pripyat. If there is a by-word for what the world would look like if people disappeared suddenly, this town is it. Thirty-six hours after Reactor 4 exploded, the people of Pripyat were finally evacuated. This was a coordinated effort that had the entire population Continue reading “Site 174: Chernobyl (Day 2)”
I don’t know when I first thought about visiting Chernobyl – I think it’s been on my mind for years, probably from the first time I saw photos of the abandoned buildings in Pripyat. I remember when the accident was first announced to the world – Continue reading “Site 173: Chernobyl (Day 1)”
Every generation it seems, lives through some life- or world-changing events in their lifetime, whether it be wars, assassinations, shootings, trials and resignations, hijackings, or terrorist attacks. For me, so far they’ve been the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Continue reading “Site 153: Fukushima Exclusion Zone”
3/11. It may not be as famous as 9/11, but at least here in Japan, it’s a day that will never be forgotten. The triple disaster of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the tsunami that followed, and the explosion at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are all events that Continue reading “Site 152: Ishinomaki”
stone and dust 