I watched Top Gear on Sunday (16th Feb.) and was amazed to see the gruesome twosome of Clarkson and May drive their small cars (a Volkswagen Up and a Dacia Sandero) into the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl and the infamous No.4 reactor. My initial thoughts were fear for them and then a disbelief that the presenters were allowed to do something so foolhardy in the drive (pun intended) to provide entertainment. I couldn’t believe that the BBC, with all its health and safety responsibilities, would sanction the broadcasting of such stupidity.
Clarkson and May went in without any protective clothing (only shielded from the radiation by their cars) with Geiger counters clicking and with a suggestion of terror! The producers were trying to create engaging, slightly scary, thought provoking television and, to be fair, managed to pull it off.
However; what I didn’t know at the time but, after a bit of research do now, is that tourism inside the exclusion zone has become common place since 2012 and was doable even a few years earlier.
Since 1986 the radiation levels around the plant have fallen significantly and whilst it’s still a dangerous environment, a few hours of controlled exposure are unlikely to have much impact on someone’s health. It turns out that there are hot spots to be avoided and visitors are fully briefed and given strict instructions on what they can and can’t do and where they can and can’t go. All visitors are accompanied by authorised guides and monitored by the military. Whilst tourists can get relatively close to the plant, they can’t get close enough to the areas that are still highly dangerous.
Clarkson and May (as do most tourists as it turns out) went into Pripyat, the hastily abandoned town descending into rust and ruin. They observed the landmark Ferris wheel and post-apocalyptic scenes worthy of any horror/sci-fi film.
So, realising that one could go to into the dead zone, what I still struggled to understand is why one would. The environment is dangerous, grey and about as bleak and depressing as you could get without being in a functioning war zone and having bodies to look at as well.
If I ever go to Poland, I will visit Auschwitz because I think it is important to remember and acknowledge the horror and learn the lessons of history; maybe that’s what drives visitors to Chernobyl - I suppose seeing scenes so grim helps one to realise how lucky one is (hopefully it’s that anyway as opposed to some more grotesque and ghoulish motivation)!
Back to Top Gear, having been shocked by the programme, I am a bit disappointed with it now because the producers just weren’t honest with the messages. Going into the exclusion zone was portrayed as bloody dangerous when it isn’t really - people go in daily and that wasn’t addressed; Clarkson and May play acted terror when it wasn’t justified; by inference that made the presenters seem brave/ bold/heroic, which is nonsense. At the back of my mind is this nagging thought that the attempt at fake drama trivialises the real drama for those that survived the catastrophe and still live with the consequences.
I think that the scenes shot by the Top Gear camera crew in the exclusion zone were genuinely poignant and would have been so without the presenters’ bravado. The message “you can see this yourself if you are so inclined” or even some insight into the value that tourism is adding to the Ukrainian economy or benefiting those affected by the disaster would have been better.
I know that Top Gear is all about entertainment and buffoonery; I look forward to watching every episode and this won’t change, but the Ukrainian mini adventure (though no Minis were featured) could have been much more factual and better for it.
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Clarkson and May went in without any protective clothing (only shielded from the radiation by their cars) with Geiger counters clicking and with a suggestion of terror! The producers were trying to create engaging, slightly scary, thought provoking television and, to be fair, managed to pull it off.
However; what I didn’t know at the time but, after a bit of research do now, is that tourism inside the exclusion zone has become common place since 2012 and was doable even a few years earlier.
Since 1986 the radiation levels around the plant have fallen significantly and whilst it’s still a dangerous environment, a few hours of controlled exposure are unlikely to have much impact on someone’s health. It turns out that there are hot spots to be avoided and visitors are fully briefed and given strict instructions on what they can and can’t do and where they can and can’t go. All visitors are accompanied by authorised guides and monitored by the military. Whilst tourists can get relatively close to the plant, they can’t get close enough to the areas that are still highly dangerous.
Clarkson and May (as do most tourists as it turns out) went into Pripyat, the hastily abandoned town descending into rust and ruin. They observed the landmark Ferris wheel and post-apocalyptic scenes worthy of any horror/sci-fi film.
So, realising that one could go to into the dead zone, what I still struggled to understand is why one would. The environment is dangerous, grey and about as bleak and depressing as you could get without being in a functioning war zone and having bodies to look at as well.
If I ever go to Poland, I will visit Auschwitz because I think it is important to remember and acknowledge the horror and learn the lessons of history; maybe that’s what drives visitors to Chernobyl - I suppose seeing scenes so grim helps one to realise how lucky one is (hopefully it’s that anyway as opposed to some more grotesque and ghoulish motivation)!
Back to Top Gear, having been shocked by the programme, I am a bit disappointed with it now because the producers just weren’t honest with the messages. Going into the exclusion zone was portrayed as bloody dangerous when it isn’t really - people go in daily and that wasn’t addressed; Clarkson and May play acted terror when it wasn’t justified; by inference that made the presenters seem brave/ bold/heroic, which is nonsense. At the back of my mind is this nagging thought that the attempt at fake drama trivialises the real drama for those that survived the catastrophe and still live with the consequences.
I think that the scenes shot by the Top Gear camera crew in the exclusion zone were genuinely poignant and would have been so without the presenters’ bravado. The message “you can see this yourself if you are so inclined” or even some insight into the value that tourism is adding to the Ukrainian economy or benefiting those affected by the disaster would have been better.
I know that Top Gear is all about entertainment and buffoonery; I look forward to watching every episode and this won’t change, but the Ukrainian mini adventure (though no Minis were featured) could have been much more factual and better for it.
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