| The only uninhabitable oblast city is situated on the low right bank of Prypyat River. The Prypyat settlement was founded down the stream in 1970 to provide lodging for builders and auxiliary personnel of Chornobyl APP. It began to generate electricity in 1977, and already before 1984,4 power units generated 1,000 MW each. In 1980, Prypyat was upgraded to the status of regional city. There were about 49,000 residents in Prypyat in 1986, and it was planned to bring that number up to 80,000. The accident, which occurred on April 25/26, 1986, was the worst nuclear power accident in world history, which led to the most disastrous man-caused catastrophe in the 20th c. The direct property damage made 4bn karbovanetses, and general losses were twice as much. Under the pressure of developed countries, Ukraine had to close down Chornobyl APP in 2003. There are a lot of myths and speculations without any proof both about the accident and cleanup operations. All solid data about the man-caused and radiological catastrophe is available at the National Kyiv Museum "Chornobyl" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine opened in 1992. The most interested persons can make a tour of Prypyat going there from the capital of the country. |
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