Chernobyl officials hope to reopen doors to tourists
KIEV, Ukraine - Managers at the Chernobyl nuclear power station said Monday that they hope to reopen the site to tourists in December after a ministerial review on safety rules, a spokesman for the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station said Monday.
A Kiev court upheld a ban on tourist visits to the site on Friday, citing outdated legislation and potential health hazards.
Ukraine's Ministry of Justice should finish a government review of new rules for visiting the region on Friday, after which tour companies will again be able to guide visitors through the depopulated region, said Dmitry Bobro, a spokesman for the station.
For several months now, the "Chernobyl Dead Zone", as the region is often referred to in Ukraine, has been open only to station workers, selected former residents of the region and journalists.
New rules will require tourists to carry personal security badges and to apply for the tour at least 10 days before traveling, among other regulations.
A Kiev tour operator told the German news agency dpa that he expected a lift on the ban on tourists in the coming days and that his company was already accepting Chernobyl tour applications.
A typical tour will take a visitor to the gates of the station, into a radiation monitoring center and for a walk through the abandoned Soviet town Pripyat.
A lunch in a canteen used by workers still employed to monitor the station is also often included in the day trip, which usually costs $100 to $300.
___
Distributed by MCT Information Services
