The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, located in the north of Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, was formed as a result of the radioactive contamination of the territory after the accident at reactor No. 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 26 April 1986.
Its area is 36,545 thousand hectares. The perimeter of its border reaches 223.5 km, of which 34 km run along the border with Belarus. There are 76 settlements here, including the towns of Chornobyl and Prypiat and Yaniv railway station, from which the population was evacuated.
More than 90,000 residents of picturesque Polissia left their homes for ever. Over the years, the Zone has become the subject of active scientific research by specialists in various fields of knowledge, including foreign researchers.
