scholarly journals Features and trends of the Chernobyl tourism development

2020 ◽  
Vol 183 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 134-141
Author(s):  
Anna Romanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Scientific Conference ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Mass Tourism ◽  
Tourism Product ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station ◽  
Economic Contribution

The author defines Chernobyl tourism as a visit to the exclusion zone, which was formed as a result of a large-scale technological disaster, i.e., an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986, for educational, scientific, business, recreational and other tourism purposes. The complexity of Chernobyl tourism is proved and schematically presented. The main types of tourism which can be promoted in the Chernobyl Zone (ChZ) such as cultural, cinema, active, scientific, conference, dark, sentimental, adventure, extreme, industrial, business, event, diplomatic and ecotourism had been analyzed. Four stages of the development of Chernobyl tourism are disclosed: 1) illegal visits to the exclusion zone (starting from the late 1980s); 2) official visits (starting from the late 1990s); 3) emergence of Chernobyl tourism companies (starting from the first decade of the 2000s); 4) mass tourism (starting from the second decade of the 2000s). The statistics of visiting the ChZ for the last five years had been analyzed. The number of foreigners visiting ChZ was compared with the total number of foreigners visiting Ukraine. The results of the marketing research of the profile of 1000 random visitors to the ChZ, conducted in November 2019, are presented. The formula of the economic contribution of Chernobyl tourism to the development of the tourism sector of Ukraine and the national economy as a whole has been derived. As a result of generalization of statistical data, as well as the results of marketing research, a number of features of Chernobyl tourism was formulated and analyzed: uniqueness of this tourism product; phasing of development; tours organization; availability of various types of tourism; dominance of foreign tourists; relatively high cost of the product; narrow segmentation of the product; purposefulness of the tours; the game, television and film industry influence; short trips duration; three-level self-organization of Chernobyl tourism; an increase in the number of illegal tourists; the lack of developed tourism infrastructure; the high interest of foreign investors; the lack of a systematic scientific and strategic approach. The recommendations for authorities and representatives of Chernobyl tourism promotion companies were formulated to increase the economic contribution of this type of tourism.

scholarly journals Living with Fukushima

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ruby Somerville
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
The People ◽  
The Future ◽  
New Beginnings

<p>Nuclear power is a highly disputed and powerful industry that continues to grow worldwide alongside safer renewable resources. No country seemed to have as much unwavering faith in the nuclear industry as Japan, until the catastrophic events of Fukushima in 2011. Although large-scale disasters caused by nuclear power facilities are few and far between, the devastation to the environment is, in most cases, irreparable. Fukushima remains to this day a painful reminder of this fact.  In 2011 Japan suffered an unprecedented three-strike disaster. First a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country. This was followed by a subsequent tsunami which tore apart Japan’s East Coast and resulted in the loss of more than 20,000 lives. However, it was the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that was the final devastating blow. 160,000 people were forced to evacuate. These nuclear refugees, as they have come to be known, have paid the ultimate price. Their home lands have been permanently scarred by the radiation, with only small sections able to be decontaminated. Even in these areas, land that has been cultivated for centuries will likely never again be able to produce safe crops in the traditional way. In a region highly valued for its agriculture and fishing industries, they have lost everything that they spent generations working and caring for.  The Architecture and Dystopia Stream challenges architectural projects to call attention to the dystopian realities that our generation will face in the future. This is a project for a small broken town, Namie, and how we might propose a future where the people can live alongside the damage left by nuclear contamination. The project attempts to capture intimate day-to- day moments for the people within a much larger scheme that sheds light on the potentially damaging consequences of the nuclear industry. In this sense, the true challenge of the project is to simultaneously explore both the megascale and the human-scale.  Earlier this year Namie was one of the first towns in the Fukushima exclusion zone to be partially reopened. Since then thousands of residents have made the tough decision between the familiarity of and love for their home town and the invisible threat of radiation. It is heard continually in surveys, interviews, and political rallies that these evacuees simply want their old lives back, and those who are returning to Namie have seized this chance. It is clear, however, that the ‘cleanup’ of these towns that are reopening cannot repair the lasting damage of the nuclear radiation on the natural environment. Fishing in the river, picking mushrooms in the foothills, these sorts of activities were part of daily life in this rural town that can no longer be enjoyed without great risk. Not only have they lost many of the joys that come with living so closely amongst the environment, they also can no longer make a living off their land. It is feared that their lives here will be a shadow of what they were before. Although the reality sounds bleak and dystopian, the architectural intervention designed for Namie will be Utopian, focussing on the future that these returning residents are daring to hope for.  Lastly, it has been openly speculated that the heavy influence of the nuclear industry on Japanese government is responsible for Japan’s lack of exploration into safer, sustainable energy sources. Japan is usually on the forefront of new technologies. Following the Fukushima meltdown, for the first time since it was introduced to the country, Japanese are questioning and openly challenging the use of nuclear energy in their country. The uncertainty of the future has spurred opportunities for a change in direction, in what many consider is a pivotal moment in Japan’s history. This project aims to be bold and push past what might be an expected solution, capitalising on this rare openness towards new beginnings, to propose a highly unconventional project that optimistically envisions a better future for the people of Namie.</p>

Living with Fukushima

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ruby Somerville
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
The People ◽  
The Future ◽  
New Beginnings

<p>Nuclear power is a highly disputed and powerful industry that continues to grow worldwide alongside safer renewable resources. No country seemed to have as much unwavering faith in the nuclear industry as Japan, until the catastrophic events of Fukushima in 2011. Although large-scale disasters caused by nuclear power facilities are few and far between, the devastation to the environment is, in most cases, irreparable. Fukushima remains to this day a painful reminder of this fact.  In 2011 Japan suffered an unprecedented three-strike disaster. First a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country. This was followed by a subsequent tsunami which tore apart Japan’s East Coast and resulted in the loss of more than 20,000 lives. However, it was the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that was the final devastating blow. 160,000 people were forced to evacuate. These nuclear refugees, as they have come to be known, have paid the ultimate price. Their home lands have been permanently scarred by the radiation, with only small sections able to be decontaminated. Even in these areas, land that has been cultivated for centuries will likely never again be able to produce safe crops in the traditional way. In a region highly valued for its agriculture and fishing industries, they have lost everything that they spent generations working and caring for.  The Architecture and Dystopia Stream challenges architectural projects to call attention to the dystopian realities that our generation will face in the future. This is a project for a small broken town, Namie, and how we might propose a future where the people can live alongside the damage left by nuclear contamination. The project attempts to capture intimate day-to- day moments for the people within a much larger scheme that sheds light on the potentially damaging consequences of the nuclear industry. In this sense, the true challenge of the project is to simultaneously explore both the megascale and the human-scale.  Earlier this year Namie was one of the first towns in the Fukushima exclusion zone to be partially reopened. Since then thousands of residents have made the tough decision between the familiarity of and love for their home town and the invisible threat of radiation. It is heard continually in surveys, interviews, and political rallies that these evacuees simply want their old lives back, and those who are returning to Namie have seized this chance. It is clear, however, that the ‘cleanup’ of these towns that are reopening cannot repair the lasting damage of the nuclear radiation on the natural environment. Fishing in the river, picking mushrooms in the foothills, these sorts of activities were part of daily life in this rural town that can no longer be enjoyed without great risk. Not only have they lost many of the joys that come with living so closely amongst the environment, they also can no longer make a living off their land. It is feared that their lives here will be a shadow of what they were before. Although the reality sounds bleak and dystopian, the architectural intervention designed for Namie will be Utopian, focussing on the future that these returning residents are daring to hope for.  Lastly, it has been openly speculated that the heavy influence of the nuclear industry on Japanese government is responsible for Japan’s lack of exploration into safer, sustainable energy sources. Japan is usually on the forefront of new technologies. Following the Fukushima meltdown, for the first time since it was introduced to the country, Japanese are questioning and openly challenging the use of nuclear energy in their country. The uncertainty of the future has spurred opportunities for a change in direction, in what many consider is a pivotal moment in Japan’s history. This project aims to be bold and push past what might be an expected solution, capitalising on this rare openness towards new beginnings, to propose a highly unconventional project that optimistically envisions a better future for the people of Namie.</p>

scholarly journals On the Root Causes of the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster from the Perspective of High Complexity and Tight Coupling in Large-Scale Systems

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 414
Author(s):  
Atsuo Murata ◽  
Waldemar Karwowski
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Complexity ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Large Scale Systems ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Loss Of Coolant ◽  
Station Blackout ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi

This study explores the root causes of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster and discusses how the complexity and tight coupling in large-scale systems should be reduced under emergencies such as station blackout (SBO) to prevent future disasters. First, on the basis of a summary of the published literature on the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, we found that the direct causes (i.e., malfunctions and problems) included overlooking the loss of coolant and the nuclear reactor’s failure to cool down. Second, we verified that two characteristics proposed in “normal accident” theory—high complexity and tight coupling—underlay each of the direct causes. These two characteristics were found to have made emergency management more challenging. We discuss how such disasters in large-scale systems with high complexity and tight coupling could be prevented through an organizational and managerial approach that can remove asymmetry of authority and information and foster a climate of openly discussing critical safety issues in nuclear power plants.

scholarly journals The Environmental Effects of the April 2020 Wildfires and the Cs-137 Re-Suspension in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: A Multi-Hazard Threat

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Rocío Baró ◽  
Christian Maurer ◽  
Jerome Brioude ◽  
Delia Arnold ◽  
Marcus Hirtl
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Plume Dispersion ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Fire Plume ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
The Impact

This paper demonstrates the environmental impacts of the wildfires occurring at the beginning of April 2020 in and around the highly contaminated Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). Due to the critical fire location, concerns arose about secondary radioactive contamination potentially spreading over Europe. The impact of the fire was assessed through the evaluation of fire plume dispersion and re-suspension of the radionuclide Cs-137, whereas, to assess the smoke plume effect, a WRF-Chem simulation was performed and compared to Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite columns. The results show agreement of the simulated black carbon and carbon monoxide plumes with the plumes as observed by TROPOMI, where pollutants were also transported to Belarus. From an air quality and health perspective, the wildfires caused extremely bad air quality over Kiev, where the WRF-Chem model simulated mean values of PM2.5 up to 300 µg/m3 (during the first fire outbreak) over CEZ. The re-suspension of Cs-137 was assessed by a Bayesian inverse modelling approach using FLEXPART as the atmospheric transport model and Ukraine observations, yielding a total release of 600 ± 200 GBq. The increase in both smoke and Cs-137 emissions was only well correlated on the 9 April, likely related to a shift of the focus area of the fires. From a radiological point of view even the highest Cs-137 values (average measured or modelled air concentrations and modelled deposition) at the measurement site closest to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, i.e., Kiev, posed no health risk.

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