CounterSpill

The worst and most well-known of all nuclear disasters, Chernobyl haunts the nuclear power industry as a scenario of epic proportions. The effects of it still linger as deformities and cancers are still being studied today throughout western Europe. 

Compelling stories about this tragic event can be found below.

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"Voices From Chernobyl"

By Svetlana Alexievich, via the Paris Review

This reading is just a portion of what Alexievich has collected through her hundreds of interviews with those who experienced the disaster themselves. In these selected stories, she introduces the pain and uncertainty of nuclear disaster through their own words. 

"Is Chernobyl A Wild Kingdom Or A Radioactive Den Of Decay?"

By Adam Higginbotham, Wired Magazine

Many believe the grounds surrounding the Chernobyl disaster to be healing as nature reclaims its domain. Other contest it is still a wasteland filled with strange mutations and contamination. Could the truth be a bit of both?

"Special Report: In Chernobyl, A Disaster Persists"

By Olzhas Auyezov and Richard Balmforth, Reuters

This 2011 article explores the dangers brewing at the site of the disaster decades later. From ecological uncertainty to political instability, the future of Chernobyl's containment seems to be a daunting ordeal. 

"Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden"

By Henry Shukman, Outside Magazine

What's it like to come face-to-face with a furiously radioactive wild boar? This first-hand account explores the tragic beauty of Chernobyl and the devastating effects the disaster had brought to its countryside and its inhabitants. 

"Chernobyl: Five Years Later The Danger Persists"

By Felicity Barringer, New York Times

Five years after the disaster, there was still a lot of confusion, cynicism and fear surrounding the devastation. Although promises of safety and rebuilding abounded, many still found their lives filled with uncertainty, if not ruin.