Map of the spread of radiation after the accident. Atom is never peaceful! Find yourself in an area of ​​radioactive contamination

Do you think that a dose of radiation can only be obtained from the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant? Huge mistake!

In the territory former USSR a huge number of infected objects. Traces of the largest accidents are still active today, 25 years after the fall of the country.

Often we don’t even think that very close by is a huge radioactive burial ground, a nuclear testing zone, or an outcropping of geological rocks with a background level that is thousands of times higher.

Operating radioactive contamination facilities

1. Production Association "Mayak", Ozyorsk, Russia

Coordinates:

Infected areas: Chelyabinsk region

The accident at Mayak in 1957 was the third largest, after Chernobyl and Fukushima. But the enterprise for the production of components and regeneration of nuclear materials still operates to this day.

Lake Karachay nearby is the dirtiest radioactive zone on Earth. The background here is 1000 times higher than Chernobyl.

However, numerous emergency situations infect the atmosphere and soil of the entire Urals. The last major release took place in 2017. The radioactive cloud reached Europe, losing a significant part along the way.

2. Siberian Chemical Plant, Seversk, Russia

Coordinates: 56°21′16″ n. w. 93°38′37″ E. d.

Infected areas:Tomsk region

At this plant for the processing of solid radioactive materials in 1993, radioactive substances were released into the atmosphere, 2 thousand people were injured - the area is still characterized by elevated background levels.

Official sources say that the case in 1993 is the only one. However, according to GreenPeace, small emissions occur regularly.

3. Mining and chemical plant, Zheleznogorsk, Russia

Coordinates: 55°42′44″ n. w. 60°50′53″ E. d.

Infected areas:Krasnoyarsk region

Until 1995, the enterprise produced weapons-grade plutonium necessary for creating nuclear warheads. In subsequent years, the enterprise was retrained for storing nuclear waste.

The dumping of radioactive materials into the Yenisei is a fairly common and undeniable event. Fortunately, the general background downstream does not exceed too much acceptable standards.

However, at the moment the enterprise is a source of infection. All hope lies in creation full cycle reprocessing, in which the waste will become fuel for a new nuclear power plant.

4. Western Mining and Chemical Combine, Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan

Coordinates: 41°16′00″ n. w. 72°27′00″ E. d.

Infected areas: Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan; Andijan and Namangand regions of Uzbekistan

Until 1968, uranium was mined here. Over time, the deposits were exhausted, the industry was reoriented to the production of radio tubes, which also lost their value.

Today, near the settlement there is the world's largest radioactive waste storage facility. The general radiation background is such that Mailuu-Suu is one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world.

Scenes of accidents with large-scale radioactive releases

5. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Pripyat, Ukraine

Coordinates: 51°23′22″ n. w. 30°05′59″ E. d.

Infected areas: Bryansk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga regions of Russia; Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev regions of the Republic of Belarus

The tragedy at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant led to the largest radioactive contamination of territories in human history. Clouds of active gases passed right through Russia. Eastern Europe also suffered – Romania, the Balkan countries.

And the troubles are not over yet.

Areas contaminated with cesium-137 will continue to poison residents for at least another 30 years. And the radioactive background of many areas and settlements Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula and Gomel regions exceeds the permissible limit by several times.

6. 569th Coastal Technical Base, Murmansk, Russia

Coordinates: 69°27′ N. w. 32°21′ E. d.

Infected areas: Murmansk region
In 1982, here, on Andreeva Bay, there was a leak of radioactive water. As a result, 700 thousand tons of water flowed into the Barents Sea - more than from Fukushima.

Andreeva Bay is not the only “dirty” place in the Murmansk region. But she is abandoned, unlike the others.

Spent nuclear fuel disposal sites and coastal bases for nuclear service vessels located in the Murmansk region attract researchers from all over the world. The level of radiation is increasing every year.

7. Chazhma Bay, Nakhodka, Russia

Coordinates: 42°54′02″ n. w. 132°21′08″ E. d.

Infected areas: Peter the Great Bay (?), water area of ​​the port of Nakhodka

As a result of the accident on the K-431 nuclear submarine in August 1985, an area of ​​about 100 thousand square meters was contaminated.

Although the background is gradually decreasing, Pavlovsky Bay is still dangerous for visits. In addition, leaks are likely, distributing dangerous isotopes into sea waters.

8. Aikhal village, Russia

Coordinates: 65°56′00″ n. w. 111°29′00″ E. d.

Infected areas: The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The Kraton-3 project, within the framework of which an underground explosion was carried out near the village of Aikhal on August 24, 1978 to study seismic activity with an accidental release in environment, making the area 50 km around uninhabitable.

In addition, similar experiments were carried out in Yakutia (but without air contamination) within the framework of the projects “Crystal”, “Horizon-4”, “Kraton-3/4”, “Vyatka”, “Kimberlite” and a whole series of explosions in the city area Peaceful.

Official sources claim that the explosion sites have a standard natural background. Whether this is actually true is unknown.

9. Kama-Pechora Canal, Krasnovishersk, Russia

Coordinates: 61°18’22″N. w. 56°35’54″E. d.
Infected areas: Perm region

A series of surface explosions for the construction of the canal led to the contamination of the nearby Pechora forests back in 1971.

Since then, the area, even the crater itself, has become habitable.

However, the most important property is observed here radioactive contamination: Radiation is still encountered, although official measurements cannot cover the entire area, the main inspection sites are clean.

10. Udachny Mining and Processing Plant, Udachny, Russia

Coordinates: 66°26′04″ N. w. 112°18′58″ E. d.

Infected areas: Yakutia

A radioactive cloud resulting from an above-ground explosion as part of a project to create a dam for the Udachny mining and processing plant covered neighboring settlements.

Most of The territory today has a natural background, but in some places the so-called “dead forest” remains - areas of dead vegetation without any signs of life.

11. Gas condensate field, Krestishche, Ukraine

Coordinates: 49°33′33″ n. w. 35°28′25″ E. d.

Infected areas: Donetsk region of Ukraine

An attempt to eliminate a gas leak from a gas condensate field using directed nuclear explosion was not successful. But there was a release of radiation, echoes of which can still be found nearby today.

Both immediately after the experiment and today, there is no official data on the radiation background.

Polygons

12. “Globus-1”, Galkino, Russia

Coordinates: 57°31′00″ n. w. 42°36′43″ E. d.

Infected areas: Ivanovo region

The release from the peaceful underground explosion of the Globus-1 project in 1971 is still causing contamination of the surrounding area today.

According to official data, today the background level is approaching the permissible level (although some of the surrounding areas are still closed).

However, besides this place, there are several old radio burial grounds in the Moscow region, and in the west there is an increased background that appeared as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

If the authorities recognize the infection, benefits will have to be paid and benefits (including free higher education) will have to be provided.

13. Semipalatinsk Test Site, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan

Coordinates.

Check if there is a nuclear power plant, plant or nuclear research institute, storage facility for radioactive waste or nuclear missiles near you.

Nuclear power plants

Currently, there are 10 nuclear power plants in operation in Russia and two more are under construction (the Baltic NPP in the Kaliningrad region and the floating nuclear power plant “Akademik Lomonosov” in Chukotka). You can read more about them on the official website of Rosenergoatom.

At the same time, nuclear power plants in the former USSR cannot be considered numerous. As of 2017, there are 191 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, including 60 in the United States, 58 in the European Union and Switzerland, and 21 in China and India. In close proximity to the Russian Far East 16 Japanese and 6 South Korean nuclear power plants operate. The entire list of operating, under construction and closed nuclear power plants, indicating their exact location and technical characteristics, can be found on Wikipedia.

Nuclear factories and research institutes

Radiation hazardous objects (RHO), in addition to nuclear power plants, are enterprises and scientific organizations nuclear industry and ship repair yards specializing in the nuclear fleet.

Official information on radioactive waste in the regions of Russia is on the website of Roshydromet, as well as in the yearbook “Radiation situation in Russia and neighboring states” on the website of the NPO Typhoon.

Radioactive waste

Low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste is generated in industry, as well as in scientific and medical organizations throughout the country.

In Russia, their collection, transportation, processing and storage are carried out by Rosatom subsidiaries - RosRAO and Radon (in the Central region).

In addition, RosRAO is engaged in the disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned nuclear submarines and naval ships, as well as the environmental rehabilitation of contaminated areas and radiation-hazardous sites (such as the former uranium processing plant in Kirovo-Chepetsk).

Information about their work in each region can be found in environmental reports published on the websites of Rosatom, branches of RosRAO, and the Radon enterprise.

Military nuclear facilities

Among military nuclear facilities, the most environmentally dangerous are, apparently, nuclear submarines.

Nuclear submarines (NPS) are so called because they run on atomic energy, which powers the boat's engines. Some of the nuclear submarines also carry missiles with nuclear warheads. However, major accidents on nuclear submarines known from open sources were associated with the operation of reactors or other causes (collision, fire, etc.), and not with nuclear warheads.

Nuclear power plants are also available on some surface ships of the Navy, such as the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great. They also pose some environmental risks.

Information on the locations of nuclear submarines and nuclear ships of the Navy is shown on the map based on open source data.

The second type of military nuclear facilities are units of the Strategic Missile Forces armed with ballistic nuclear missiles. Cases of radiation accidents associated with nuclear weapons in open sources not detected. The current location of Strategic Missile Forces formations is shown on the map according to information from the Ministry of Defense.

There are no storage facilities for nuclear weapons (missile warheads and aerial bombs) on the map, which can also pose an environmental threat.

Nuclear explosions

In 1949-1990, the USSR carried out an extensive program of 715 nuclear explosions for military and industrial purposes.

Atmospheric nuclear weapons testing

From 1949 to 1962 The USSR carried out 214 tests in the atmosphere, including 32 ground tests (with the greatest environmental pollution), 177 air tests, 1 high-altitude test (at an altitude of more than 7 km) and 4 space tests.

In 1963, the USSR and the USA signed a treaty banning nuclear tests in air, water and space.

Semipalatinsk test site (Kazakhstan)- test site of the first Soviet nuclear bomb in 1949 and the first Soviet prototype of a 1.6 Mt thermonuclear bomb in 1957 (it was also the largest test in the history of the test site). A total of 116 atmospheric tests were carried out here, including 30 ground and 86 air tests.

Test site on Novaya Zemlya- the site of an unprecedented series of super-powerful explosions in 1958 and 1961-1962. A total of 85 charges were tested, including the most powerful in world history - the Tsar Bomba with a capacity of 50 Mt (1961). For comparison, the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima did not exceed 20 kilotons. In addition, in the Chernaya Bay of the Novaya Zemlya test site, the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion on naval facilities were studied. For this, in 1955-1962. 1 ground, 2 surface and 3 underwater tests were carried out.

Missile test training ground "Kapustin Yar" V Astrakhan region- active test site Russian army. In 1957-1962. 5 air, 1 high-altitude and 4 space rocket tests were carried out here. The maximum power of air explosions was 40 kt, high-altitude and space explosions - 300 kt. From here, in 1956, a rocket with a nuclear charge of 0.3 kt was launched, which fell and exploded in the Karakum Desert near the city of Aralsk.

On Totsky training ground in 1954, military exercises were held, during which it was dropped atomic bomb power 40 kt. After the explosion, the military units had to “take” the bombed objects.

Besides the USSR, only China has carried out nuclear tests in the atmosphere in Eurasia. For this purpose, the Lopnor training ground was used in the north-west of the country, approximately at the longitude of Novosibirsk. In total, from 1964 to 1980. China has carried out 22 ground and air tests, including thermonuclear explosions with a yield of up to 4 Mt.

Underground nuclear explosions

The USSR carried out underground nuclear explosions from 1961 to 1990. Initially, they were aimed at the development of nuclear weapons in connection with the ban on atmospheric testing. Since 1967, the creation of nuclear explosive technologies for industrial purposes began.

In total, of the 496 underground explosions, 340 were carried out at the Semipalatinsk test site and 39 at Novaya Zemlya. Tests on Novaya Zemlya in 1964-1975. were distinguished by their high power, including a record (about 4 Mt) underground explosion in 1973. After 1976, the power did not exceed 150 kt. The last nuclear explosion at the Semipalatinsk test site was carried out in 1989, and at Novaya Zemlya in 1990.

Training ground "Azgir" in Kazakhstan (near the Russian city of Orenburg) it was used to test industrial technologies. With the help of nuclear explosions, cavities were created here in the rock salt layers, and with repeated explosions, radioactive isotopes were produced in them. A total of 17 explosions with a power of up to 100 kt were carried out.

Outside the ranges in 1965-1988. 100 underground nuclear explosions were carried out for industrial purposes, including 80 in Russia, 15 in Kazakhstan, 2 each in Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and 1 in Turkmenistan. Their goal was deep seismic sounding to search for minerals, creating underground cavities for storing natural gas and industrial waste, intensifying oil and gas production, moving large amounts of soil for the construction of canals and dams, and extinguishing gas fountains.

Other countries. China carried out 23 underground nuclear explosions at the Lop Nor site in 1969-1996, India - 6 explosions in 1974 and 1998, Pakistan - 6 explosions in 1998, North Korea - 5 explosions in 2006-2016.

The US, UK and France conducted all their testing outside of Eurasia.

Literature

Much data about nuclear explosions in the USSR is open.

Official information about the power, purpose and geography of each explosion was published in 2000 in the book of a group of authors of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy “Nuclear Tests of the USSR”. It also provides a history and description of the Semipalatinsk and Novaya Zemlya test sites, the first tests of nuclear and thermonuclear bombs, the Tsar Bomba test, the nuclear explosion at the Totsk test site and other data.

A detailed description of the test site on Novaya Zemlya and the testing program there can be found in the article “Review of Soviet nuclear tests on Novaya Zemlya in 1955-1990”, and their environmental consequences in the book “

List of nuclear facilities compiled in 1998 by Itogi magazine, on the Kulichki.com website.

Estimated location of various objects on interactive maps

Accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant happened more than 30 years ago. The destruction of the reactor led to a colossal release of radioactive substances into the environment. According to the official version, 31 people died in the first 3 months, and in subsequent years this figure approached one hundred. There is still some debate as to what caused the disaster. The consequences of what happened will be felt for many more decades, if not hundreds of years. After the accident, a 30-kilometer zone was established, from which almost the entire population was evacuated, and free movement was prohibited. This entire territory froze in 1986. Today we will look at the 7 most interesting objects in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Today Pripyat is not such a “dead city” - excursions are regularly organized there, and stalkers walk around. Pripyat is considered a Soviet city-museum under open air. This abandoned place has retained the energy of the mid-80s, which attracts tourists from all over the world. We will look at some of the most interesting places in this city.

Hotel "Polesie" was once business card Pripyat. It is located in the city center, next to an amusement park, which is clearly visible from its windows, and from the observation deck the main city square and the no less famous Energetik Palace of Culture are clearly visible. Climbing onto the roof becomes more and more dangerous every year, since it has not been in the best condition for a long time, but visitors to the Zone are drawn to touch the huge letters that make up the name of the hotel.

The emergency response headquarters was set up in the hotel building. From the hotel roof the 4th power unit is clearly visible, so it was possible to correct the actions of the helicopters that were putting out the fire.

In some rooms there are dilapidated interior items. In general, looters did a good job in Pripyat at one time. They took out equipment, furniture, cut off batteries and took away everything that had at least some value, without even thinking that all this could cause great harm to health.

Paradoxically, even today the hotel receives tourists who, of course, do not come there to rent a room. They admire the views of Pripyat, get acquainted with the features of Soviet apartments and are amazed at the trees that grow through the floor.

This artificial reservoir was created to cool the station's reactors. The cooling pond is located on the site of an abandoned quarry, several small lakes and the old bed of the Pripyat River. The depth of this reservoir reaches 20 m. A dam divides it in the middle for better circulation of cold and warm water.

Today the cooling pond is located 6 meters above the level of the Pripyat River, and maintaining it in this condition is costly. Taking into account the fact that the station is no longer operating, the water level is gradually reduced, and over time the reservoir is completely planned to drain. This causes concern among many, because at the bottom there is a lot of debris from the reactor of the fourth power unit, highly active fuel elements and radiation dust. However, negative consequences can be avoided if the gradual decrease in water level is correctly calculated so that the bare areas of the bottom have time to acquire vegetation that will prevent the rise of radioactive dust.

By the way, the Chernobyl NPP cooling pond is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Europe.

The condition of the pond is constantly monitored in order to assess how its ecosystem has suffered from radiation exposure. Although the diversity of living creatures has decreased, it has not disappeared completely. Today, it is quite possible to catch a normal-looking fish in a pond, but it is not recommended to eat it.

DK Energetik

Let's return to the center of Pripyat. The main square of the city is overlooked by the Energetik Palace of Culture, which, along with the Polesie Hotel, is a must-see.

It is logical to assume that all the cultural activities of the city. Circles gathered here, concerts and performances were held, and discos were held in the evenings. The building had its own gym, library and cinema. The recreation center was a favorite place for the youth of Pripyat.

Today you can still find the remains of the marble tiles that lined the building, stained glass windows and mosaics. Despite the destruction, the building still retains that famous spirit of the Soviet era.

City amusement park in Pripyat

Perhaps the most famous attraction of Pripyat is the city amusement park with its Ferris wheel. It is worth noting that this one of the most contaminated places in the city, but once upon a time in the park, enthusiastic children's voices were heard every now and then.

Cars, swings, carousels, boats and other attributes of the amusement park will never be used for their intended purpose, but among numerous tourists and stalkers they are popular as a kind of attraction.

Ferris wheel managed to become a symbol of the already deserted Pripyat. Interestingly, it was never put into operation. It was supposed to open on May 1, 1986, but 5 days before that there was an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant...

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Today, for a certain amount of money, you can visit the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself. There you will see how it goes construction of the "Arch", which should cover the 4th power unit along with the old sarcophagus. In the power plant building itself, you can walk along the “golden corridor”, get acquainted with the reactor control panel, and also find out how the Chernobyl nuclear power plant worked in general. Regular excursions are limited only to tourists staying near the station.

The arch should cover the message of the 4th power unit

Of course, illegal travelers cannot penetrate into the heart of the Zone - everything is reliably guarded. However, the station and the “Arch” under construction are clearly visible from the high-rise buildings of Pripyat. Every self-respecting stalker is sure to capture a photo of the view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

By the way, about 4,000 people now work at the station. They are engaged in the construction of the Arch and work on decommissioning power units.

Red forest

This area of ​​forest, located not far from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, during the accident took on the largest share of radioactive dust, which led to the death of trees and coloring of their foliage brown-red. It is noteworthy that the enzymes of the trees reacted with radiation, which is why a glow was observed in the forest at night. As part of the decontamination, the Red Forest was demolished and buried. Today the trees are growing again, of course, already having a normal color.

However, today there are young pines with signs of mutations. This can be expressed in excessive or, conversely, insufficient branching. Some trees, having reached the age of about 20 years, could not grow above 2 meters. The needles on pine trees can also look intricate: they can be elongated, shortened, or completely absent.

By the way, the remaining power units were still operating for some time. The last one was turned off in 2000.

An unpleasant feeling may arise from the burial grounds where the demolished trees were buried. Mounds and branches sticking out of the ground evoke unpleasant associations for many.

The remains of unburied trees are also of interest. This view clearly demonstrates how nature can suffer from human activity. This area is perhaps one of the saddest places in the Exclusion Zone.

Arc

The object is represented by a huge complex of antennas. This radar station performed the task of detecting launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our military could see the American missile, actually looking over the horizon. Hence the name "Arc". To ensure the operation of the complex, about 1000 people were needed, which is why a small town was organized for the military and their families. And so it arose object "Chernobyl-2". Before the accident, the installation was used for only a few years, and after that it was abandoned.

The radar antennas are of Soviet engineering. According to some reports, the construction of “Duga” cost twice as much as the creation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Western countries were not happy with this installation. They constantly complained that it interfered with civil aviation. Interestingly, “Duga” created a characteristic knocking sound on the air, for which it was nicknamed “Russian Woodpecker.”

The height of the antennas reaches 150 m, and the length of the entire building is about 500 m. Due to its impressive size the installation is visible from almost anywhere in the Zone.

Nature is gradually destroying the buildings of the Chernobyl-2 facility. But the “Duga” itself will still stand for more than one year, unless, of course, the Ukrainian authorities (or some others) want to waste tons of contaminated metal, as happened with the fleet of vehicles that were involved in eliminating the consequences of the accident...

Many stalker-roofers, not afraid of the guards who patrol those places, climb as high as possible onto one of the antennas and capture Chernobyl landscapes in photos.

In the well-known series of games S.T.A.L.K.E.R. there is a so-called “Brain Burner” installation, with which “Arc” is associated, which further attracts adventurers.

Conclusion

The Chernobyl exclusion zone is undoubtedly a unique place on Earth, a kind of piece Soviet Union in the 21st century. It is very sad that the city of Pripyat was thoroughly plundered by looters - they could have at least left the finishing intact, but no - they even pulled out the wiring. Nevertheless, to the modern generation it is important to treat the Zone not as a tourist attraction or a place where you can see places from the games, but as a reminder that our scientific achievements can leave scars on Earth that will take centuries to heal.

Findings in government institutions of Pripyat

After extinguishing the fire from the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, heroic liquidators worked for a very long time to eliminate the consequences of the accident. The radius of destruction from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant even reached North America and Japan.

Helicopter over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

The primary tasks assigned to the professionals were the decontamination of Pripyat and the removal of radioactive dust that had settled on the roofs of houses and the intact nuclear power plant units.

After the accident, the people of Pripyat for the first time began to realize the danger of “radiation” - an enemy that cannot be seen.

Eliminating the consequences was quite difficult. After all, we had to look for special methods in the fight against radiation, deadly elements and dust that had settled throughout the area. Then the helicopters entered the battle.

Fire station of Pripyat

During each flight, and there were 5-6 of them per shift, it was necessary to pour tons of PVA glue onto the roofs of the power units. Such dust cannot be removed with a vacuum cleaner or a broom. That is why a helicopter with glue was urgently needed for the Chernobyl NPP workers. After hardening, the glue was cut, rolled up and sent for destruction.

An important mission to collect radiation dust was carried out by Mi-8, Mi-24, Mi-26 and Mi-6 helicopters.

Eliminating the consequences of what happened on April 26, people risked their lives. First of all, radiation sickness struck the Chernobyl liquidators. However, then none of these heroes thought about themselves when entering into battle with an invisible enemy.

The moment of a helicopter crash over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Helicopter crash at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Each of the liquidators took what they were doing very seriously. But no one even suspected that after the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, another one could happen.

And now - about the most important thing, why I started writing all this - about radioactive emissions and their consequences.
A visual diagram of the release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere on the 2nd day of the accident and several days later (pictures from here: http://www.dhushara.com/book/explod/cher/cher.htm)

The first signs of something terrible, hopelessly irreparable, appeared on Monday, at 9 a.m. on April 28, 1986, when specialists at the nuclear power plant in Forsmark, 60 miles from Stockholm, noticed alarming signals appearing on ghostly green screens. The instruments showed the level of radiation, and it was so unusually high that the experts were horrified. First guess: the leak came from a reactor at their station. But a thorough check of the equipment and the instruments that control it revealed nothing. And yet, the sensors showed that the level of radiation in the air was four times higher than the maximum permissible norms. Geiger counters were quickly used to immediately test all six hundred workers. Even this hastily obtained data showed that every worker received a radiation dose above the acceptable level. In the area surrounding the station, the same thing was repeated - soil and plant samples contained incredibly high amounts of radioactive particles. By the time Forsmark scientists discovered the massive presence of radiation in the atmosphere, strong winds spread it throughout Europe. A light rain falling on the salt marshes of Brittany turned the milk in the udders of cows into a toxic substance. The heavy rains that saturated the hilly land of Wales left the tender lamb poisoned. Toxic rains occurred in Finland, Sweden and West Germany. http://primeinfo.net.ru/news405.html
http://lenta.ru/articles/2006/04/17/smi/

Although the distance between Chernobyl and Stockholm is more than 1,000 miles, the radioactive rain left Sweden more contaminated than many of the Soviet Union's neighboring countries. http://www.dataplus.ru/Arcrev/Number_31/4_aes.htm

Where and how did nuclear power plant emissions spread:

In Scandinavia and the Baltics:

There is an interactive map of Europe showing the spread of radioactive fallout on its territory: http://www.chernobyl.info/index.php?userhash=1182177&navID=2&lID=2

Cesium-137 contamination degree different regions Europe (areas for which there is no data are indicated in white).

There's more here a large map - but it is quite strange and different from others, and for the worse: http://www.mcrit.com/espon_pss/images/MAPS_131/map13_risk_radioactivity.jpg

There is different countries world, maps, statistics:
http://www.davistownmuseum.org/cbm/Rad7b.html

Radioactive fallout - map from here: http://www.esi.ru/chernobl.htm

Map of pollution in Russia:

Atlas of contamination of the European part of Russia with cesium-137. http://www.ibrae.ac.ru/russian/chernobyl/nat_rep_99/map_cs.html

How these maps were created:
Moscow tourist clubs greeted all returnees with unexpected announcements: “Urgently undergo radiation control.” As the IAE later said, it was a brilliant decision by Academician V.A. Legasov - to measure the radiation background of the equipment of tourists who usually visit all large and small rivers on May 1-9 Central Russia. As a result, the first rough map of radioactive contamination was compiled very quickly.
http://www.russ.ru/docs/116463410?user_session=

And some numbers and names for these cards:

20 years after the events at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the radiation contamination zone includes 4,343 settlements in 14 regions Russian Federation, where 1.5 million people live. http://www.regnum.ru/news/629646.html

“The pollution that came from Chernobyl, from 1 curie per square kilometer, amounts to 1.7% of the territory of Europe. The main Chernobyl spot is highlighted on the summary map, then the Gomel-Mogilev, then the Plavsko-Tula in Russia. The most affected were Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol and Tula region, where the density of soil contamination with iodine 131 ranges from 0.1 to 100 Ku/km2 or more. A spot was also registered in the Leningrad region (based on the “Chernobyl” trace, it can be assumed that the found spot with an increased radio background in the area of ​​the city of Tula) Medvezhyegorsk in Karelia, of the same origin). Pollution spread to the west - southwest, northwest, to the Scandinavian countries, then to the east - a very large, powerful trail with heavy precipitation. Then the clouds went to the south and southwest: Romania , Bulgaria, west: southern Germany, Italy, Austria, the alpine part of Switzerland. The atlas indicates how much cesium fell in each country and in Europe as a whole. In Belarus - 33.5% of the total emissions, in Russia - 23.9% , in Ukraine - 20%, in Sweden - 4.4%, in Finland - 4.3%.
According to official estimates from three countries (the Republic of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine), at least more than 9,000,000 people were affected by the Chernobyl disaster in one way or another. In the RSFSR, 16 regions and one republic with a population of about 3,000,000 people living in more than 12,000 settlements were exposed to radioactive contamination.

Exceeding the indicators of diseases of the endocrine system and metabolic disorders, diseases of the blood and hematopoietic organs, congenital anomalies by more than 4 times; mental disorders and diseases of the circulatory system more than 2 times. The appearance of radiation-induced solid cancers is expected in the near future with a maximum intensity approximately 25 years after the Chernobyl accident for liquidators and 50 years for the population of contaminated areas." http://chernobyl.onego.ru/right/chernobyl.htm

Bryansk and Tula regions are two of the four regions of the Russian Federation most affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Tula region: as a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 18 of the 26 administrative territories of the region (17 districts and the city of Don) on an area of ​​14.5 thousand square meters were exposed to radioactive contamination. km, which amounted to more than half (56.3%) of its territory with a population of 928.8 thousand people. The radioactive contamination zone in the region currently includes 1,299 settlements, home to 713.2 thousand people. 122 settlements with a population of 32.2 thousand people, located in an area with a pollution density of 5 or more Ci/sq. km., classified as a residential zone with the right to resettle, 1177 settlements with a population of 680.1 thousand people in an area with a pollution density of 1 to 5 Ci/sq. km are classified as a residential area with preferential socio-economic status. In addition, 2,090 participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident live in the region, of which 1,687 are disabled. Malignant neoplasms thyroid gland in adults: in 2000, per 100 thousand people in the region there were 5.9 cases, in controlled territories - 7.7 cases, in 2001 - 5.6 and 6.0 cases, respectively. 687.4 thousand hectares (34.7%) of agricultural land in the region were in the zone of radioactive contamination, including 76.5 thousand hectares with a contamination density of more than 5 Ci/sq. km, where it is necessary to carry out soil liming and other special agrotechnical and agro-reclamation measures. According to the forecast of Roshydromet, the disappearance of levels of radioactive contamination of the area with cesium-137 isotopes is over 5 Ci/sq. km in the Bryansk and Tula regions is expected no earlier than 2029, and a reduction in pollution to the level of 1 Ci/sq. km - no earlier than 2098.
http://www.budgetrf.ru/Publications/Schpalata/2003/schpal2003bull03/schpal632003bull3-7.htm

Some settlements are listed here: In constantly controlled points of settlements in the region average level the exposure dose rate of gamma radiation (with an acceptable value of 60 μR/h) has the following indicators: village. Arsenyevo - 19 μR/h, Aleksin - 12 μR/h, Belev - 11 μR/h, Bogoroditsk - 13 μR/h, Venev - 11 μR/h, village. Volovo – 13 µR/h, village. Dubna – 11 microR/h, village. Zaoksky - 10 μR/h, Efremov - 13.5 μR/h, s. Arkhangelskoye (Kamenskoye district) - 16 μR/h, Kimovsk - 15.5 μR/h, Kireevsk - 15 μR/h, Kurkino village - 13.5 μR/h, village. Leninsky - 11 μR/h, Novomoskovsk - 15.5 μR/h, Odoev village - 12.5 μR/h, Plavsk - 33.5 μR/h, village. Dairy Yards of Plavsky district - 21 microR/h, Suvorov - 11.5 microR/h, village. Teploye Teplo-Ogarevsky district - 12 microR/h, Uzlovaya city - 21 microR/h, village. Chern – 16 µR/h, Shchekino – 14.5 µR/h, Yasnogorsk – 10.5 µR/h. The average monthly value of the background gamma level in Tula in September was 12.5 µR/hour. When studying food raw materials and food products produced in the region and imported from other regions, drinking water, excesses of hygienic standards for the content of radioactive substances were not revealed. http://www.etp.ru/ru/news/news/index.php?from4=21&id4=201

At the same time, everything is far from so simple. Here is what is said about violations of the law in this area:
Consequently, the exclusion of specific settlements Tula region from among those having the status of territories with radiation contamination or their transfer to another, less preferential status must be carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Law of the Russian Federation "On social protection citizens exposed to radiation as a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant."
http://www.nuclearpolicy.ru/pravo/lawpractice/3dec1998.shtml

The situation in Russian territories contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident - statistical tables of various data http://www.wdcb.rssi.ru/mining/obzor/Radsit.htm
"CHERNOBYL DISASTER: Results and problems of overcoming its consequences in Russia 1986 - 1999" http://www.ibrae.ac.ru/russian/chernobyl/nat_rep_99/13let_text.html
Objects of potential radiation hazard on the territory of Russia and their products http://www.igem.ru/staff/abstr/gis_rb.htm

In 1997, a multi-year European Community project to create an atlas of cesium contamination in Europe after the Chernobyl accident was completed. According to estimates carried out within the framework of this project, the territories of 17 European countries with a total area of ​​207.5 thousand square meters. km turned out to be contaminated with cesium with a contamination density of over 1 Ci/sq.km. http://www.souzchernobyl.ru/index.php?ipart=7

The contamination zone turned out to be so vast that the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, at a meeting in May 1986, compared it with “the consequences of a local nuclear war in the center of Europe.” Most of the area was contaminated with the strontium isotope Sr-90, the half-life is 30 years. In general, we are waiting for 2286, because any isotope becomes harmless after 10 half-lives. However, it will not be possible to repopulate Pripyat even then. The surroundings of the station and the city itself were contaminated with the plutonium isotope Pu-90, the half-life is 24080 years... http://forum.rockhell.ru/index.php?s=3e2d0a9b0e7b28bb810cb517dc206ab1&showtopic=636&st=50&p=29215entry29215

The forecast of the environmental situation in contaminated areas is still far from complete. We can speak more or less definitely only about a period of time of 10 - 20 years, and this applies only to 90Sr and 137Cs. As for transuranium elements (and therefore the forecast for many millennia), the accumulated information is too small. The lack of data on these radionuclides is felt on all aspects of the problem, from the amount of fuel in the sarcophagus (according to various experts, from 39 to 180 tons) to the mechanism of formation of soluble compounds of plutonium, americium and neptunium in the soil and the migration routes of these radioactive elements. http://ph.icmp.lviv.ua/chornobyl/e-library/chornobyl_catastrophe/conclusion.html

Medical consequences Chernobyl disaster (pdf) http://mfa.gov.by/rus/publications/collection/report/chapter_3.pdf

In the same document we're talking about and about birth defects:

The other day, a sensational report by the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (SCEAR) “Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Incident” was published. It states: no, there have not been and are not expected any severe mass consequences of the Chernobyl disaster! Objection: - Scientists have conducted hundreds of experiments on plants and animals. All showed negative effects of low doses of radiation. Well, how can this be explained from the perspective of the UN report - by stress in mushrooms or pessimism in rats?

The Germans showed a film refuting the position of the official Ukrainian authorities
IN documentary film about Chernobyl, shown recently in Germany, there is evidence from scientists who claim: government data on the consequences of the disaster are falsified.
The film is based primarily on the research of Konstantin Checherov, a physicist from the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, who until 1996 was a member of the commission investigating the causes of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. “The reactor does not pose any danger to Western Europe", says the scientist. http://www.russisk.org/article.php?sid=655

Medical consequences of the Chernobyl accident: forecast and actual data from the national register. There are statistics on morbidity among liquidators + 50-year studies of the Japanese after Hiroshima and several other articles. http://www.ibrae.ac.ru/russian/register/register.html

Medical aspects:
And almost thirty years ago in the United States, blowfly populations were exterminated in a number of states. Males irradiated with an appropriate dose of radiation were released into the population. After several generations, many kinds of monsters appeared in it. Then the entire population disappeared.
But the genetic mechanism for the transmission of hereditary characteristics in protozoa, flies and humans is essentially the same!
However, the consequences of the disaster manifest themselves thousands of kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This is what the famous Russian ecologist, corresponding member, reports. RAS A. Yablokov:
"In the summer of 1986, Norway, Sweden and the UK experienced a significant increase in the total number of deaths among the population. The sanitary service rejected tens of thousands of meat carcasses due to unacceptable radioactivity. In southern Germany, where
Chernobyl fallout was especially intense, infant mortality increased by 35%... ...And often radiation damage has the greatest impact in the third generation. So trouble will respond more than once" /We have become hostages of the nuclear power plant. "Trud", February 13, 1996/.
According to recent WHO data, 4.9 million people were exposed to Chernobyl radiation /E. Shakov, Will Chernobyl close? "New Russian Word", January 5, 1996/.
acad. HELL. Sakharov (“Memoirs”, New York, 1990. p. 262):
“...Even the smallest dose of radiation can cause damage to the hereditary mechanism, lead to a hereditary disease or death. There is no “threshold”, i.e. such a minimum value of the radiation dose that at a lower dose... damage will not occur.
...The probability of damage depends on the dose of radiation, but, within certain limits, the nature of the damage does not depend." "Irradiation, even in relatively small doses, disrupts conditioned reflex activity, changes the bioelectrical activity of the cerebral cortex, causes biochemical and metabolic changes in the molecular and cellular levels". These lines were taken by her from the books "The Danger of Nuclear War" and " Nuclear war: medical and biological consequences", the authors of which are E.I. Chazov, L.A. Ilyin and A.K. Guskova. These books were also published in the first half of the 1980s, before Chernobyl, although not long ago.
http://zhurnal.lib.ru/t/tiktin_s_a/adomdimitchernobil.shtml

According to official UN data, about 4 thousand deaths from cancer worldwide are associated with the explosion of the reactor 20 years ago. Meanwhile, environmentalists give a different figure: in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus alone, about 200 thousand people have already died due to the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, the Russian branch of Greenpeace told NEWSru.com. The report provides figures based on demographic statistics over the past 15 years. According to these data, 60 people have already died in Russia due to the Chernobyl accident. As for Ukraine and Belarus, this figure reaches 140 thousand (Main conclusions of the report).

According to Greenpeace, in the future, about 270 thousand cases of cancer worldwide will be related to the effects of Chernobyl radiation. Of these, 93 thousand will be fatal.
According to environmentalists, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Estonia, Slovakia, Ireland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium were affected by the Chernobyl accident , Spain, Portugal, Israel. The total area of ​​land contaminated only with cesium-137, in addition to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, amounted to 45,260 square kilometers.

The report also provides an analysis of diseases associated with the effects of radiation on the body: damage to the immune and endocrine systems, disorders in the cardiovascular system and blood diseases, mental illness, damage at the chromosomal level and an increase in the number of developmental defects in children.
The number of cancer cases has increased sharply in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. In Belarus, between 1990 and 2000, there was an increase in cancer incidence by 40%, and in the Gomel region - by 52%. In Ukraine there was a 12% increase in the level of cancer, while in the Zhytomyr region the mortality rate increased almost threefold. In Russia, in the Bryansk region, the number of cancer cases increased 2.7 times.

In Belarus alone, until 2004, about 7 thousand cases of thyroid cancer were registered. According to some studies, the incidence of thyroid cancer in children has increased by 88.5 times, in adolescents by 12.9 times and in adults by 4.6 times. Experts estimate that over the next 70 years, the number of additional thyroid cancer cases will range from 14 to 31 thousand cases. In Ukraine as a whole, about 24,000 cases of thyroid cancer are expected, 2,400 of which are fatal.

This significant increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer significantly exceeds the expected level (immediately after the accident, official sources predicted a slight increase in incidence). Moreover, the diseases are characterized by a short latency period and tumor spread beyond the thyroid gland in almost 50% of cases, necessitating repeated operations to remove residual metastases.

Five years after the accident, a significant increase in leukemia cases was reported among populations living in the most severely affected areas. An estimated 2,800 additional cases of leukemia are expected in Belarus between 1986 and 2056, 1,880 of them fatal.

There has been a marked increase in cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, bladder, kidney, lung and other organs. In 1987-1999, about 26 thousand cases of cancer caused by radiation were registered in Belarus, of which 18.7% were skin cancer, 10.5% were lung cancer and 9.5% were stomach cancer.

In Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, the number of diseases of the circulatory and lymphatic systems has increased. In the ten years after the accident, the number of diseases of the circulatory system increased 5.5 times. On the territory of Ukraine, the number of blood and circulatory system diseases among residents of contaminated areas has increased by 10.8-15.4 times.

The effects of radiation on the reproductive system. The accumulation of radionuclides in the female body leads to an increase in the level of the male hormone testosterone, which is responsible for the appearance of male characteristics. Conversely, cases of impotence have become more frequent in men 25-30 years old living in radiation-contaminated areas. Children in contaminated areas suffer from delayed sexual development. Mothers experience delayed onset and interruption of the menstrual cycle, more frequent gynecological problems, anemia during and after pregnancy, premature birth and rupture of membranes.
http://www.newsru.com/world/18apr2006/greenpeace.html

How much data was not included in official statistics? How can we now determine whether certain diseases are caused by the effects of radiation or not? You can only record the growth trends of certain diseases, and only...

A fragment of the front page of the Berlin edition of Die Tageszeitung

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which occurred in 1986, could have caused more than a thousand child deaths in the UK, an English scientist believes. A study by epidemiologist John Urquhart found that several years after the disaster in British regions where rain fell fallout, there was an increased infant mortality rate, Sky News reports. The scientist analyzed medical statistics in areas where “black rains” occurred after the explosion of a Soviet reactor and calculated that the increase in child deaths from 1986 to 1989 was 11% - compared with 4% in other regions. In reality, this means more than a thousand deaths, John Urquhart said at a conference in London dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the disaster. According to his research, this negative trend stopped four years after Chernobyl. Official maps show the radioactive clouds passed through Kent and London into Hertfordshire and the eastern midlands of Great Britain before hitting Bradford and the Isle of Man and heading towards Northern Ireland. The scientist believes that approximately half of the regions of England and Wales could potentially be affected by this disaster. http://www.newsru.com/world/23mar2006/chernobyl.html

About how asexual worms switched to the traditional method of reproduction
http://chernobyl.onego.ru/right/izvestia26_04_2003.htm

In the context of all this, theoretical information will not be superfluous:
THE BASICS OF THE SCIENCE OF RADIOACTIVITY http://www.radiation.ru/begin/begin.htm
About iodine against radioactivity http://www.inauka.ru/news/article50772.html
X-ray radiation http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/

More miscellaneous information

And the radiation continues to spread...
They're coming to Moscow litigation regarding the import of radioactive Chernobyl pipes into Russia
http://www.newsru.com/russia/08dec2005/chernobil.html
http://www.sancenter.ru/003.html
Look through the news sites, there’s about pipes, and about blueberries, and about equipment stolen from burial grounds...
And no one understands that just one particle, invisible to the eye, is enough for the fate of our subsequent generations to change... we are already paying with various kinds of diseases, decreased immunity, and we continue to believe that this has nothing to do with Chernobyl.

I will write about Latvia and the Baltic states separately in the next issue.

See the beginning of the topic here:
20 years of the Chernobyl accident (part 1: map and table)
All about Chernobyl and its consequences - (part 2: many links about the accident itself and Pripyat)