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Hi Folks
I am booking to take a tour around Pripyat and Chernobyl. From my research I understand that the dust I come into contact with could have residual radiation. Masks are given to the party, but as with anything touristy, I don't think I would guarantee it's maintained effectively, so I thought it may be best to take my own.
I have a FFP3 mask that I use for asbestos sampling. Would you think that this will surfice? Donating the filter to the Tour Operator before I leave...
Discuss! (Smile)
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Linda
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Before you go (or better still before you book) watch the BBC documentary on the new cover they built and put in place over the old sarcophagos and contaminated buildings. Bit of an eye opener. From memory Pripyat is not too bad now but there are bits of debris here and there that could kill you. Do some research on the dust and the radiation levels still remaining before you make any decision about the type of RPE you need to take. I would also take gloves and I wouldn't bring my footwear back!!
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Rank: Super forum user
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The short answer is I don’t know.
I don’t know how much radioactive debris is about. I don’t know the sort of radioisotopes that might be present. Will they be alpha or beta emitters? I don’t know what form this dust might take- respirable, inhalable or whatever. I don’t know which areas have what levels of radioactivity. I am assuming someone has mapped this out but how often are these maps updates? On a dry day the dust will travel further while after rain it will be washed way. What provision is needed for decontaminated your clothing and PPE? There are loads of other factors that need to be taken into account. I can’t imagine similar tours being allowed in the UK, not because the site is dangerous but because it would be difficult to answers those questions. Note in the UK the regs make a distinction between the levels of radiation dose permitted to members of the public and employees.
Edited by user 31 January 2018 13:47:04(UTC)
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Linda - I will send you a PM later today.
Jamie
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I suggest it's highly unlikely non-specialist visitors will be taken to any area that requires post-visit decontamination, but you should be able to check that before booking.
I also suggest there's been so much interest in the area for many years by independent radiation specialists that it also highly unlikly local exposure-management practices differ from IAEA's global standards - again you can ask the tour operator. Many people believe they are not exposed to ionising radiation if they don't visit places where high-powered sources are in use, whether sealed or unsealed. Such belief is significantly incorrect, all of us are continuously exposed, including from materials within our own bodies - at extremely low levels of course. One of the positive things about IR is that it's pretty easy to detect, if you use the right instruments, though not by our own senses.
So I'd be less worried that some other responders, though I do agree it's an unusual area for a 'holiday tour'.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Originally Posted by: linda xc 
What are you hoping to see? A deserted village! I would have thought the correct PPE is Hawaiian shirt, flowery shorts that come down to the knee and flip flops. Then following the visit, they should be removed and encased in concrete and dropped into the deepest part of the ocean. You may wish to just miss out the visit and enclose those items in concrete and dispose in the ocean as that is the best place for them. This way we will slowly, but surely, eradicate those items from society at large.
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I would be more concerned about taking an internal flight with a Russian airline, if that is part of the travel plan.
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There is good guidance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygmVZaYgbn8 I suspect it would be an intersting visit but not convinced I'd be 100% comfortable/sure that I was at zero risk. Then again, as someone that has been sky diving, done bungee jumps, and all sorts of other 'adrenaline based' activities I guess it all comes down to personal preference and risk/reward analysis. Life would be boring if we didn't take the occasional 'less conventional' roads. Variety is the spice of life after all (though preferably without any nucelar fallout radiation). Ian Bell2 has a point about the airlines, not for the faint of heart over there.
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Rank: Forum user
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By complete coincidence on the tele the other night was a tourist doing a similar tour. It showed him in various places with a tour guide e.g. in a fairground, in an empty swimming pool, inside buildings, etc. The tourist was quite excited about it all. Rather more concerning was the tour guide who went "off-piste" with a radiation detector to find fragments of nuclear fuel to show the camera team. I think any reputable tour operator would insist that tourists keep to a designated and well trodden path and not deviate from it.
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Rank: Forum user 
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Linda, as with everything there are controls that can be employed. For a visit to Pripyat, there are certain things I would expect them to be doing.
If I were running the tours, before I ran any, I would check out the areas where there was most/least contamination, and highest/lowest radiation levels. If there were a chance of visitors becoming contaminated I would issue them with Tyveks (suits - whole body including feet and hoods) at the least, and masks as a reassurance/precautionary measure; I would not be taking visitors to areas where contamination could go airborne and be breathed in. I am also curious as to how the air feeds on the tour bus are being filtered...?! I would also be issuing dosemeters to make sure nobody was getting too high a dose. If there were high dose rate areas on the tour, I would be limiting the time spent in those areas. I would also give a demonstration as to how to remove the Tyveks at the end of the tour to limit the amounts of contam that went airborne or spray the suits with sticky stuff (Think they use Glycol? does that sound right...?) so the contam sticks to it. If the worst comes to the worst and you receive an intake, it won't kill you (unless it's absolutely huge!... and if it does happen, it won't be. Easy for me to say, I know!).
Might also be a bit obvious, but don't eat, drink, smoke, take nasal sprays, inhalers, apply make-up, lip balm while on the tour, just to be on the safe side. Bit hard to do with a mask on, I guess...
I would also do a bit of contamination checking as you get off the bus at the other end, so you don't take any "souvenir" radioactive material home with you! If they give you a contamination monitor to check yourself, go slowly (one probe area per second recommended), and as close as you can, and watch out for creases in your clothing (might hide a source of alpha).
That's what I would do - but they do things differently there!
I wish I was coming along - hope you enjoy the trip! Be interested to know what dose you get on your visit (I would need the units too - some use Rems, some use Sieverts!)
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