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NEWS > BUSINESS > PLANS FOR CHERNOBYL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MAY HAVE TO WAIT A LITTLE LONGER
PLANS FOR CHERNOBYL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MAY HAVE TO WAIT A LITTLE LONGER
December 17 2009
Prypiat, Ukraine – For a generation that grew up the 1980’s there are few memories as startling and as tactile as the explosion of the nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant. With fears over nuclear technology still palpable and information sketchy
at best from inside what was then the Soviet Union, the meltdown brought apocalyptic fear to millions. The name ‘Chernobyl’ itself has no become synonymous with the fear over nuclear technology and its ability to cause unimaginable devastation.
That accident, the worst nuclear accident in history, still holds a great deal of fascination for many people, scientists chief amongst them, but a growing business interest has also taken a liking to the site. Researchers have long looked at the site as a kind of massive Petri dish to study the effects of radiation and how it affects the natural world but it is the name that most interests business as developers itch to get a shot at building in the area. Unfortunately though those plans might have to wait a little longer after a study showed that rate of decay of Cesium 137 is much lower than previously expected. Initially scientists predicted a half-life of thirty years but now may be looking at between 180 and 320 years for the toxic materials to work their way through the soil.
“Normally you’d say that every 30 years, it’s half as bad as it was. But it’s not. It’s going to be longer before they repopulate the area, a lot longer. The Cesium is not decaying nearly as fast as we had believed it would in the soil throughout the area meaning it will be a long time before human habitation is possible,” said nuclear scientist said Tim Jannick. “320 years is the upper end of estimates and it may be a lot less but it’s clear that nothing will be happening there for quite awhile. We aren’t quite sure why the Cesium is persisting in this way but as long as it does the area will remain off limits.”
The news comes a major blow to the Ukrainian government which had been hoping to secure deals for the Prypiat area, a city which was totally abandoned after the accident and left to decay.
“Further research will have to done. We very much respect the work these people are doing in the area but we are more interested in a solution than in explanation. If they can find the reasons for this continued toxicity then we will be able to further a cleaning of the area and start moving people in,” said a government spokesperson. “This land is amongst the most beautiful in all of the Ukraine and we would like to return it to the people. We will do whatever we must to ensure that the people of the Ukraine will once again be able to enjoy the beauty and majesty of Prypiat and the surrounding area.”
One proposal had planned on turning the remains of the former power plant into a school and community centre, something that might never happen now.
“There are few sites in the world, never mind in the Ukraine, with as much cache as Chernobyl. The edict in real estate is always location, location, location and really there is no better place in that country than Chernobyl and the surrounding area, aside from the radiation poisoning,” said Scrape TV Real Estate analyst Ann Lewis. “Once they can get that little mess cleaned up the location would be superb. Everyone across the world knows the name and it could become a much sought after location for high rollers. Hopefully they can clean up that little mess and get things going, despite what the scientists say.”
If the upper end estimates are to be believed the location will likely have lost much of its clout, though it’s generally believed we will have floating cities by the year 2329.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
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