[Nuclear1]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/13/ukraine.chernobyl/index.html

(CNN) -- Ukraine says it will lift restrictions on tourism in the zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2011, formally opening the scene of the world's worst nuclear accident to visitors.

A limited number of visitors already are allowed into the 30-kilometer (19-mile) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which exploded and burned in 1986. The Ukrainian government will present a detailed plan for lifting the remaining restrictions on travel to the area December 21, said Viktor Baloga, the former Soviet republic's emergency situations minister.

Background radiation in the accident zone is still well above normal. But far from being a wasteland, wildlife has rebounded in the exclusion zone and trees are reclaiming the ghost city of Pripyat, said Mary Mycio, author of "Wormwood Forest," a 2005 book on the area.

Sounds great, I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about that place.

[General Battuta]

get out of here, stalker

[Kolgena]

They need to open a STALKER-themed air-soft park.

[Thaeris]

Hell, you can even wear real NBC gear...

MOPP 4! MOPP 4!

 

[Klaustrophobia]

i want to see actual figures on the radiation levels there.  "well above normal" could mean anything from mildly threatening to the equivalent of an airplane ride.

[Mongoose]

Sweet, now we can all get the chance to do this.

[iamzack]

i want to honeymoon there

[Nuke]

i wonder if they would let me build a summer cabin there.

[redsniper]

get out of here, stalker

Don't just stand there. Come in!

[BloodEagle]

I was under the impression that OSHA declared the site safe years ago.  What's this about 'dangerous radiation'?   

[ssmit132]

Sounds great, I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about that place.

[achtung]

I wonder if I could snatch up some property nice and cheap there.

[Herra Tohtori]

They should just leave it as a nature reserve. The wildlife has been doing awesomely there ever since humans left it alone...

[FreeSpaceFreak]

Always wanted to go there, I'm somehow fascinated by... post-apocalyptic images like the one below, nature reclaiming what once belonged to it.

I read an article of someone going there about a year ago; they had to wear a geiger counter as a precaution, but the dose only went up in some isolated places where the fallout hadn't really washed away yet. So if you just take a little care, it's not dangerous there.

[Pred the Penguin]

That looks amazing...

[General Battuta]

Look, the problem is that we can't get to the Wish Granter until we find a way to decode the door.

[newman]

They've been having guided tours of Pripyat for a while now. Supposedly it's safe if you don't deviate from the route and don't touch anything with your bare hands. All of the most exotic and most dangerous particles have a relatively short half life, but there's still some of the stuff there that could easily ruin your day. What's far more dangerous are the death claws.
On a more serious note, I agree with Battuta, they should leave that area alone, make it a preserve and leave the wild life there alone.