For many, radiation is an invisible killer, from which you need to stay as far away as possible. But there are people who strive to radioactive places for the thrill. And there are those who make good money, offering daredevils tours to places of nuclear tests, zones of radioactive contamination, etc.
We present you the top 10 most popular places for radioactive tourism.
10. Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine, Australia
Mary Kathleen is a ghost town halfway between Mount Isa and Cloncurry. It was built to service the uranium mine that existed from the 1950s to the 1980s.
At the end of 1982, the mine was exhausted and closed. Over the 12 years of its work, 31 million tons of material were extracted, including 7 million tons of ore.
The remains of the processing plant and are still preserved at the mine. Currently, Mary Kathleen’s mine resembles a swimming pool, whose water is painted in spectacular blue color due to slight radioactivity and leaching of minerals from the mine walls.
You can’t swim in this blue broth from chemicals, but some brave tourists do it at their own peril and risk, and then boast of swimming in one of the most toxic reservoirs on the planet.
9. The area near the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, Japan
Eight years after the earthquake, tsunami, and one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, Fukushima Japanese Prefecture is gradually recovering. According to observers, radiation levels in the capital of the prefecture are comparable to those in places like Hong Kong and London.
However, about 3 percent of the prefecture is officially closed and abandoned by all residents. But they are a welcome place for extreme tourists who are not afraid of the fact that in some places the radiation background can reach 400 mcR / h.
8. Nuclear Test Site Tour, Australia
It is unlikely that you often met the mention of Moraling in the media. This site, located in South Australia, served as a testing ground for the British military conducted in the years 1955-1963.
As a result, the area was contaminated with radioactive materials, the fight against which the Australian government spent 108 million dollars. Moreover, she paid compensation in the amount of 13.5 million dollars to the local tribe Tzarutzha. And although living in a radioactive area, even with a lot of money is a so-so prospect, they were also able to make “lemonade from lemon” and Moraling became one of the most visited routes of radioactive tourism.
Tourists are offered a bus tour of an abandoned military settlement, a British airfield and places where nuclear explosions took place. However, there is a closed area at this landfill that will be radioactive for 25 thousand years.
7. Semipalatinsk test site, Russia
Our country also has something to show to "radioactive tourists." Of course, such excursions are expensive, but impressions will remain for life.
On August 29, 1949, the first nuclear test in the USSR was conducted at the Semipalatinsk test site. The power of the bombed RDS-1 bomb was 22 kilotons. Now at the site of the explosion is a small reservoir - the "atomic lake".
In 1991, the landfill was closed, and turned into one of the popular tourist attractions. All excursions are carried out by transport, accompanied by a radiation monitor, and tourists should wear masks and shoe covers and not lift anything off the ground.
6. Alamogordo Polygon, USA
At this training ground on July 16, 1945, the first nuclear device in the world was successfully tested. The bombing force, codenamed "Trinity", amounted to about 20 thousand tons. And the United States received formidable weapons, which were soon used to launch nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Those who wish to join the birth of the Atomic Age can visit the training ground on October 1 and April 1 as part of an excursion group. At the epicenter, you can see green trinititis - a mineral created by a bomb explosion.
5. Yanjiang, China
No nuclear tests were conducted in this area. The radioactivity of Yanjiang is associated with deposits of monazite - a mineral containing thorium and radium. On the hills that contain monazite, building sand was mined for many years, which went to create bricks.
From these bricks, local residents built their houses, as a result of receiving the lion's dose of radiation. Because of this, the proportion of cancer patients in Yanjiang is very high.
4. Sarcophagus of nuclear waste, USA
The huge gray mound of Weldon Spring is a stark contrast to the green surroundings. Uranium, radium and other radioactive and chemical wastes are buried under the embankment.
The Weldon Plant, operating during the Cold War, belonged to the US government and was fundamental to the Manhattan Project and the development of nuclear weapons. Here, not only was uranium mined, but also explosives were produced - dinitrotoluene (DNT) and trinitrotoluene (TNT). And now this place has become one of the most popular places for radioactive tourism.
Near the waste storage is a small museum telling the story of Weldon Spring. For example, that it was planned to produce another deadly weapon called Agent Orange. But it didn’t come to that, as the war in Vietnam came to an end.
3. "Healing" radon mines, USA
Montana is the only place in the United States where underground radon mines can be found. Most of them were dug in the 1920s when miners searched for gold, silver and other valuable metals.
And the Radon Health mine was founded in 1949, when uranium was discovered near the hills west of the city of Boulder. Initially, he was engaged in uranium mining, but after three years he was retrained for radon therapy. And all thanks to the wife of one of the mine investors. In 1951, she came to visit her husband and, after several visits to the mine, noticed that her bursitis had disappeared. It has been attributed to the healing properties of radon.
Here we must make a brief reference to what radon is. This is a radioactive gas that results from the decomposition of uranium. It has a radiotoxic and carcinogenic effect on the human body, and with prolonged exposure leads to lung cancer. However, even such harmful gas can serve for the benefit of mankind. In medicine, radon is used for radon baths, which have a positive effect on the nervous system at all levels. But this procedure is prescribed only when the benefits of a radon bath exceed the damage from exposure to radon.
Sitting among the radioactive stones a few meters underground may seem too risky for health. But many people around the world disagree. Proponents of radon therapy in Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria and Russia, have noted the benefits of low doses of radon as an “effective alternative to the use of pharmaceuticals.”
2. Fort d’ Aubervilliers, France
This area in the suburbs of Paris in the 30s of the last century served as a platform for the study of radioactive materials. On its territory there are 61 barrels with “lantern” materials, such as Cesium-137 and Radium-226.
Measures to clean the Fort d’Abervillier from radioactive contamination began only in 1999, and the city authorities plan to build new apartment buildings in the cleared area.
1. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine
The cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat have long become a symbol of all the troubles that radiation brings with it. And interest in these scary and mysterious places is only fueled by eyewitness accounts, city legends, books, films and series (such as the recently released HBO series Chernobyl).
And where there is demand, there will be supply. And currently, a visit to the 30-km Chernobyl exclusion zone is perhaps the most popular “radioactive” tourist destination in the world. The cost of the Chernobyl tour starts from 83 dollars per person for citizens of another country and from 67 dollars for Ukrainians.
One of the most dangerous places of Chernobyl open for tourists is the control room of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The radiation level in it is 40 thousand times higher than normal. Therefore, visitors to the control room wear chemical protection suits and special boots. Inside the control room of the fourth power unit, you can stay no longer than five minutes.
