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You can now visit Chernobyl’s control room

Tourists are now able to visit the radioactive control room at Chernobyl which has been within the exclusion zone of access since the disaster more than 30 years ago.

The control room is in decay and is located at Unit Four, where the reactor exploded.

It is also the location of the deadly “elephant’s foot” radioactive mass which was discovered in the basement under the remains of the reactor.

As the control room is still a hotbed of radioactive activity and measures at around 40,000 times the safe level, visitors are only able to visit the control room for five minutes.

The decision to open the site up to tourists came after the success of the HBO mini series Chernobyl, which outlined the disaster and what mistakes led to it happening. 

Vitalii Viktorovych Petruk, the head of Ukraine's state agency for the Exclusion Zone, mentioned the popular TV series by name when talking on the decision to open up the site.

"The HBO series boosted the interest to Chernobyl. Everybody now wants to see more, and we are going to satisfy the demand."

This year alone has seen more than 85,000 visitors flock to the Ukraine to visit the infamous abandoned city.

Tags:
chernobyl, radiation, radioactive, radio activity, geiger counter