Why is Chernobyl deemed to not be habitable for 22,000 years despite reports and articles everywhere saying that the radiation exposure of being within the exclusion zone is less you’d get than flying in a plane or living in elevated areas like Colorado or Cornwall?

Question

Why is Chernobyl deemed to not be habitable for 22,000 years despite reports and articles everywhere saying that the radiation exposure of being within the exclusion zone is less you’d get than flying in a plane or living in elevated areas like Colorado or Cornwall?

In: 12368

Answer 1

Don’t know the full story, but I’m aware that a lot of pieces of the exploded reactor are buried under not very much soil. Certain spots of ground are thousands of times worse than nearby parts of ground, and If you start digging holes (say for foundations of buildings) you can dig up parts of the reactor that will not be safe to be near for thousands of years.

Here’s some reporting on the russian army’s recent misadventure (and subsequent sudden withdrawl from) the exclusion zone: [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/world/europe/ukraine-chernobyl.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/world/europe/ukraine-chernobyl.html)

[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-troops-radiation-chernobyl-ukraine-b2048563.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-troops-radiation-chernobyl-ukraine-b2048563.html)

It is of course hard to tell to what extent russian soldiers were injured by the radiation, both because the russian government isn’t keen to talk about specifics, and also because with the exception of severe radiation poisoining, often the damage is not apparent for many months/years after the exposure.