Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: Ferris Wheel In Pripyat

This is the most photographed area of Pripyat – the abandoned entertainment park with a ghostly rusting Ferris wheel, go-carts, and other joy rides. Interestingly, this was where I measured the highest radiation of the whole trip. Apparently, radioactive materials accumulated at the bottom of one of the Ferris wheel cabins. Our guide told us that she’d seen measurements of nearly 250 msv/hr. So I put my dosimeter next to it and – voila! – 321 msv/hr! That is about 2000 times the normal radiation level in the air, or over 1000 more then is allowed for human safety long-term. No worries – short-term exposure of a few seconds or even minutes is not a problem, it’s like eating an extra banana or two, less then you would get on a transatlantic flight. And the fact that I am now glowing at night is kind of cool.
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