0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:05 > 0:00:08- Tonight, I'm on my way back - to Chernobyl...
0:00:08 > 0:00:11- ..to see what effect - the worst-ever nuclear accident...
0:00:12 > 0:00:15- ..has had on the people - and their communities.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20- Hello, Tatyana.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- Eifion Glyn.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23- Do you remember me?
0:00:24 > 0:00:25- Yes. Yes.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29- I venture back to the empty city...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32- ..in the exclusion zone - near the nuclear plant.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- This place's inhabitants - weren't moved from here...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40- ..until the Sunday...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43- ..36 hours - after the accident happened.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48- I meet up again - with those who were children...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51- ..when they had to escape - the radiation.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53- Good day. Dobry den.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55- Dobry den.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58- I try to discover the truth...
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- ..about the number of deaths - that were a result of the disaster.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06- Deaths here again.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08- It's...
0:01:08 > 0:01:12- This one - date of birth '87, - died '95.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- That's very young, isn't it?
0:01:18 > 0:01:22- It says in the note - that the cause of death...
0:01:22 > 0:01:27- ..was related to the explosion - at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30- Thirty years on...
0:01:30 > 0:01:35- ..this is the story of the people - who live in the shadow of Chernobyl.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- Kiev, Ukraine's beautiful capital.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58- For almost 80 years, Ukraine was - under the strict rule of the USSR.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02- Some claim that Russia - still tries to exert control...
0:02:03 > 0:02:07- ..triggering a war - in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09- I've been here three times before...
0:02:09 > 0:02:15- ..the first in 1990, when the - Soviet Union was about to crumble.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22- Back then, there was excitement...
0:02:22 > 0:02:26- ..about the first free elections - in generations.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32- Thousands upon thousands flocked - to political rallies in the capital.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- I was among them, - reporting on the historic changes...
0:02:37 > 0:02:39- ..for Y Byd ar Bedwar.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- This is the Zhovtnevy palats, - the October Palace, in Kiev.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48- It was the headquarters - of Stalin's secret police...
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- ..which killed - thousands of innocent Ukrainians.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- This was the first time - I'd been abroad with the programme.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- I was scared, inexperienced - and unsure.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08- On the first day, we walked down - the street with the camera crew.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11- I asked the locals - about the election.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14- They said, - "We're not interested in politics.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- "Take our children - back with you to the West.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- "They've been poisoned - by Chernobyl."
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- That evening, - after going back to the hotel...
0:03:23 > 0:03:25- ..I phoned the boss, the editor.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- I told him - we were doing the wrong story.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- He told me - to do the political one first...
0:03:30 > 0:03:34- ..and I could return to Chernobyl, - which I did a few weeks later.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- In the early hours - of 26 April 1986...
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- ..reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl - power station exploded.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50- Extremely high levels of radiation - were released into the air.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- With the whole world watching...
0:03:54 > 0:03:59- ..the Soviet authorities rushed - to prevent an even greater disaster.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- Thousands of workers, - or liquidators as they're known...
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- ..risked their lives - to put out the fire...
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- ..and stop the radioactive material - from melting into the earth.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17- A concrete shell was also built - to encase the reactor.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26- I got in touch with the - Chernobyl Children organization...
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- ..when I was there in 1990.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34- That's how I met the man who was - a good contact for me for decades.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- The head of the organization - is Anatoli Artemenko...
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- ..a 30-year-old - computer science teacher from Kiev.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- He comes from the Chernobyl area.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50- He returns there occasionally to - take flowers to his mother's grave.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58- He was one of the thousands - forced to move from the area.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02- But once a year, they were allowed - to go through the checkpoints...
0:05:02 > 0:05:06- ..to visit the cemeteries - and their old stomping grounds.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- Anatoli helped me - as a young reporter...
0:05:11 > 0:05:13- ..filming in a foreign country.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18- We asked him to help us with - the arrangements again this year.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24- After arriving, we had naturally - arranged to meet our man in Kiev.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- But for some reason, - he wasn't too keen to meet me.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32- Oh. Right.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35- Hello, Anatoli.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Yeah, that's better.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47- Not today.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51- He's changed the arrangements.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52- I don't know why.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56- He just said tomorrow night - at 7.00pm.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01- He's coming to the hotel - rather than me going to his home.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05- That's fine. I'm looking forward.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14- I was also eager to meet one of - the mothers I'd filmed at the time.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17- She and her family - were among the people...
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- ..who'd had - the highest dose of radiation...
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- ..as they lived near the plant.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- Like thousands of others, - she was forced to move to Kiev.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- Back then, Tatyana Lukina - was a young mother...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- ..worried about the effects - of the accident.
0:06:38 > 0:06:45- Parents know that their children - have a high dose of radiation.
0:06:46 > 0:06:53- But what can we do? Where can we go?
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- We've come to some flats in Kiev - to look for Tatyana Lukina.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- I interviewed her in 1990.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- She was part of a movement - - the mothers of Chernobyl.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- We understand that she has cancer, - so we hope to see her now.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- She was a woman - with fire in her belly...
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- ..who insisted on getting answers.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26- Hello, Tatyana.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28- Eifion Glyn.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30- Do you remember me?
0:07:30 > 0:07:31- Yes. Yes.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33- Nice seeing you again.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36- Thank you.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41- Before the explosion, Tatyana - lived in the city of Pripyat...
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- ..where the workers - of the Chernobyl plant lived...
0:07:45 > 0:07:48- ..with her husband and - two daughters, Natasha and Alyona.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- When I met her, she was concerned - about the long-term effects...
0:07:53 > 0:07:54- ..on her children's health.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02- In Kiev, there are 23,000 refugees - from Pripyat and Chernobyl.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08- I'm asking anyone - who can do anything...
0:08:08 > 0:08:13- ..please help our children.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- Her husband - used to work at the plant.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18- She worked in a factory...
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- ..making parts for - the space industry and submarines.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26- She also taught children how to swim - at one of Pripyat's swimming pools.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28- Both of her children.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- Did you teach them to swim?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- SHE SPEAKS UKRAINIAN
0:08:33 > 0:08:34- Yes, she did.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35- In this pool.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37- In Pripyat?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- Tatyana says - that her life was good in Pripyat.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46- She and her husband had good jobs - and there was plenty to do.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- She shows me - pictures of her family...
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- ..taken less than two weeks - before the accident.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- This photograph - was made in 15 of April.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00- It was the birthday of Natasha.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07- They went to a park where this - big wheel is in the park in Pripyat.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13- But after the explosion, she was - fearful and ignorant for 36 hours...
0:09:13 > 0:09:18- ..before the authorities decided to - move the entire populace from there.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- Tatyana says the world doesn't know - the true effects of the accident...
0:09:25 > 0:09:30- ..and that thousands have died - over the last 30 years.
0:09:32 > 0:09:41- 49,500 people - were evacuated from Pripyat.
0:09:42 > 0:09:50- 17,000 of them were children.
0:09:51 > 0:09:57- Half of those children - died before the age of 30.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- She says no official information - has been collected in years.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- She and a group - called Pripyat plus ten...
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- ..have kept detailed records - on those who lived in the city.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15- There is another serious problem.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- We had a high rate of suicides - among the liquidators.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23- Everybody is keeping quiet.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28- The same is true about young lads.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30- They don't commit suicide...
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- ..but they withdraw from normal life - to take drugs and to drink.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- Where is her husband?
0:10:38 > 0:10:39- Where is her husband?- - Here he is.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42- And he was the team leader there?
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- After the accident, - her husband became a liquidator...
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- ..cleaning the radiation - in Chernobyl.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53- He did the job for nine years, - which has left him mentally fragile.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58- Their eldest daughter, Natasha, - has suffered from thyroid cancer.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- Her first husband died - within five years of the accident.
0:11:02 > 0:11:03- Was this a party?
0:11:03 > 0:11:04- A new year's party.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- A new year's party.- - New year's party. Yes.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07- In Pripyat?
0:11:07 > 0:11:08- In Pripyat?- - Yes.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- On the picture, - you can see only Natasha.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17- And all the other persons - are the friends of the family.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19- They came to celebrate.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- No-one is alive - except Natasha and Tatyana.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- All the people you see - except Natasha on the picture...
0:11:27 > 0:11:29- ..they are no more.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Her daughter Alyona's relationship - with her fiance ended...
0:11:35 > 0:11:37- ..because he suspected...
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- ..the effects of the radiation - had made her infertile.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48- Tatyana herself has had cancer - and has undergone major surgery.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- I have had four operations.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- I am not ashamed - to show my ugly scars.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03- This is our medical services. - This is how we are scarred.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09- But before we left, Tatyana had an - incredible secret to share with me.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12- After I filmed with her in 1990...
0:12:12 > 0:12:17- ..she says the Soviet secret police, - the KGB, came to interview her.
0:12:17 > 0:12:18- Under Soviet rule...
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- ..no-one was allowed - to talk to foreign journalists.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26- She says they threatened - to put her in a mental hospital.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31- For 17 years after that, she had to - go to the KGB's office every month.
0:12:32 > 0:12:39- It was very serious. I had to give - up my work with Chernobyl Children.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- It was awful.
0:12:42 > 0:12:50- These were the days of the USSR - and I knew I could disappear.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52- The KGB could have taken me away...
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- ..and I would never have returned - a normal person.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- It was quite a shock - to see her again.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05- It was an emotional interview.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09- I hadn't realized that she - and her family had suffered so much.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- It was a totalitarian society...
0:13:15 > 0:13:20- ..a society where the authorities - were very, very secretive.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23- Pravda was the name...
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- ..of the Communist Party's - official newspaper.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- It's ironic because - the meaning of pravda is truth.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- But according - to what Tatyana told us...
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- ..they told everything - but the truth.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- She said they did everything - to hide the truth.
0:13:51 > 0:13:51- .
0:13:53 > 0:13:53- Subtitles
0:13:53 > 0:13:55- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:13:58 > 0:14:03- In April 1986, a reactor exploded - at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08- As a result, a radioactive cloud - blew across the continent of Europe.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14- This led to restrictions on sheep - movement in many parts of Wales.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20- That's why I came here twice during - the 1990s with Y Byd Ar Bedwar.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- This is the biggest nuclear dump - in the world.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- These are the lorries - and helicopters that were used...
0:14:29 > 0:14:34- ..to deal with the Chernobyl blast, - the worst-ever nuclear disaster.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36- Thirty years after the accident...
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- ..I'm back to see - what it's like there today.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- We're going to Chernobyl.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45- I'm carrying a dosimeter...
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- ..to measure the dose - of radiation I'm getting.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- In my left hand, - I'm carrying a Geiger counter.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- This allows me to monitor - radioactivity in the environment.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03- Thirty kilometres - from the reactor...
0:15:03 > 0:15:08- ..we must pass through a checkpoint - to enter the exclusion zone.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- There, radiation levels are higher - and the land is contaminated.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- The authorities monitor - who comes and goes...
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- ..and from this point on, - we will be escorted.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- We're passing - village after village.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- When the authorities - moved the residents...
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- ..they told them - it would only be for three days.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Of course, they never came back.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- It's now said - that no-one will live here...
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- ..for at least 20,000 years.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- In the 1990s, - I came here with a young man...
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- ..who wanted to draw attention - to the effect the accident had...
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- ..on those who were forced - from their homes.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- At the time, - it was illegal to live in this area.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- But Anatoli Artemenko's - grandmother...
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- ..was one of those - who insisted on returning.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- She returned to her home - after spending time in Kiev.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13- She lives on radioactive land - and drinks contaminated water.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- Maria Artemenko was 84 years old - when I filmed her.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23- From time to time, - Anatoli brought her goods from Kiev.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- Do you want to live - in a different village?
0:16:28 > 0:16:30- Why would I want to live - in another village?
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- I want to live in Liubianka.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37- I want to die - in the same place as I was born.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46- After the accident, 120,000 people - were moved from the area.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- But homesickness lured some back.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54- Initially, - in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- ..as many as 1,200 lived here.
0:16:57 > 0:17:03- By now, numbers have declined.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- Apparently, only some 180 remain.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14- Most of them are elderly, - in their seventies and eighties...
0:17:14 > 0:17:19- ..and the population - is decreasing steadily.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- This is the village of Kupovatoe.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- We are told - that some 20 people live here.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- How are you?
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- That's his wife.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42- That's his wife.- - Hello.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49- Victor Chausov and his wife...
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- ..moved back - a few weeks after the accident.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- He helped build the sarcophagus - around the reactor.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59- He's happier in the village...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- ..than in a concrete tower block - in Kiev.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08- Isn't he afraid of dying - because of the radiation here?
0:18:11 > 0:18:12- Not here.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- He says there's none of it here.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21- He says...
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- He says these numbers, - it's not radiation, it's a joke.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36- Kiev also has radiation level, - but people are living there.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- These numbers you are afraid of, - he says that's easy to take.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43- Strong man.
0:18:48 > 0:18:54- The city of Chernobyl is now home - to the exclusion zone controllers.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- Hundreds stay there, - but only for 15 days at a time.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- Staying any longer would be harmful.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- On the outskirts of the city...
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- ..I meet someone else - who has moved back.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- Can I come in?
0:19:19 > 0:19:24- Kovalenko Valentina is 77 years old.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- She built this house - on land given to her by her father.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- Now, she lives here with her son.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33- Sasha.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35- Sasha.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- Your son. Sasha.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- She remembers as if it was yesterday - the day she had to leave her home.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48- 5 May 1986.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52- An announcement on the radio - told them they had to leave.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58- The police were there, - and we had to go.
0:19:58 > 0:20:10- My mother and father were with me - on the same bus.
0:20:12 > 0:20:22- Of course, we did not have - any money or food. We had nothing.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28- The family went to stay - with relatives in Kiev.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- But after a month, - they weren't happy.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35- When they asked - if they could return to Chernobyl...
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- ..the authorities refused.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- But despite the dangers, - they decided to walk home.
0:20:42 > 0:20:49- Everybody was saying, "Radiation! - Radiation!" What radiation?
0:20:49 > 0:20:55- We didn't understand. - There was a cloud and some smoke.
0:20:56 > 0:21:06- We didn't understand - and we didn't care.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- The only people she sees...
0:21:10 > 0:21:14- ..are friends who call from time - to time, and her son, Sasha.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- He used to be married - and lived in Kiev.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- But when he divorced, he moved - to his mother's in Chernobyl.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28- He came here, - and said he would work with me.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- So, I helped him to find work.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- Five years ago, - she lost her husband to cancer.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- He was 75 years old.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- Her daughter has also suffered - from thyroid cancer.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50- Even so, she prefers - living in Chernobyl to Kiev...
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- ..despite the fact that life - gets more difficult every day.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- Life has become worse. - It's hard to get everyday items.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04- They can't even provide tablets.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09- We have to go to Ivankivo - or Kiev to buy tablets.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- When we complain to Kiev about it...
0:22:14 > 0:22:20- ..they tell us to move from the area - if we are not happy.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28- As we get closer - to the Chernobyl nuclear plant...
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- ..the radiation levels increase.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- This is - the internal exclusion zone...
0:22:40 > 0:22:44- ..some six miles - from the plant itself.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- So there's another checkpoint here.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49- Passport?
0:22:49 > 0:22:50- Passport?- - Yes.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- It seems to me - that they are much more careful...
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- ..than the last time I was here.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11- On average, the natural annual dose - is about two millisieverts.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17- But you can get that and more - within a few minutes here.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- It was over five millisieverts...
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- ..by quite a bit, in fact...
0:23:25 > 0:23:31- ..simply because we were driving - past the so-called Red Forest.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- We're now passing - reactor number 4 itself.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38- On the night of the explosion...
0:23:39 > 0:23:43- ..the radiation spread westwards - and north-westwards.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- The Red Forest - was directly in its path...
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- ..and got the highest dose.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55- Thirty years after the accident, - levels still seem to be fairly high.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59- This is the main road to Pripyat.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- Residents - got a high dose of radiation...
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- ..as the wind - carried dust from the nuclear plant.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13- Most of Chernobyl's workers - lived in Pripyat...
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- ..a mile or so from the plant.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- On the Sunday after the explosion...
0:24:18 > 0:24:23- ..over a thousand buses came - to ferry most of the residents away.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29- I remember doing a piece to camera - on this very spot...
0:24:29 > 0:24:33- ..detailing how they had moved - the city's population from here.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- A thousand buses arriving, - and so on.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- At that time, - you could see the city's buildings.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- It's a very different picture today, - and nature has taken over.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- The city was built in 1970.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- This was the ninth nuclear city - to be built by the Soviet Union.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05- At the time, nuclear energy was seen - as a Soviet success story...
0:25:05 > 0:25:09- ..and much safer than other methods - of energy production.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14- The city's population - was about 49,000.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18- Most people lived - in 160 blocks of flats.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- Nuclear industry workers - were paid best.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- They were treated like kings...
0:25:26 > 0:25:32- ..and at that time, everyone - wanted to work in a nuclear reactor.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- The quality of life - was exceptional...
0:25:36 > 0:25:41- ..and that's why Pripyat - was such a splendid modern city.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- The city is now as quiet as a grave.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53- The buildings are falling into ruin - and nature is taking over the city.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- The big wheel - had only just been erected.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- It only turned for one day, - the day after the accident.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- It was an exceptionally fine day.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10- Children went with their parents on - the motorbanks to the big wheel...
0:26:12 > 0:26:17- ..unaware that a huge accident - had taken place in the small hours.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24- Residents weren't moved from here - until the Sunday...
0:26:24 > 0:26:28- ..a full 36 hours - after the explosion had taken place.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- A great shame.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43- Five primary schools - and five secondary schools...
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- ..provided education - for 17,000 children.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52- A school, probably a nursery school - of some sort.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- This isn't where I came in 1990.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- In the school I visited...
0:27:00 > 0:27:04- ..the desks were still there, - with books on them.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09- You could see the children's work, - and how everything had been left.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18- The average age - of Pripyat's residents was 26.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20- It was a young and modern city...
0:27:21 > 0:27:26- ..with two sports stadiums, - ten gyms and three swimming pools.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32- It was at this pool that Tatyana - Lukina once taught children to swim.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37- Wow!
0:27:43 > 0:27:48- We've just walked up 16 floors.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50- Wow!
0:27:51 > 0:27:55- From here, you can grasp - the true scale of things.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58- The city...
0:27:59 > 0:28:03- ..and over there, - Chernobyl itself.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07- Reactor number 4, - the one that exploded.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11- From here, you can see - how close the city is to it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23- Also from here, you get a sense...
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- ..of the size - of the exclusion zone.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30- It's a thousand square miles...
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- ..an area about the size of Gwynedd.
0:28:45 > 0:28:45- .
0:28:47 > 0:28:47- Subtitles
0:28:47 > 0:28:49- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:28:55 > 0:28:57- I've been to Chernobyl twice.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- The last time was in 1995...
0:28:59 > 0:29:04- ..to report on the security of the - nuclear plant and the sarcophagus...
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- ..the concrete layer - that surrounds reactor number 4.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- This is the first time I've been - back in around twenty years.
0:29:13 > 0:29:19- My first impression - is this huge iron structure...
0:29:19 > 0:29:25- ..being built to cover - the old sarcophagus...
0:29:25 > 0:29:28- ..which was built - over reactor number 4...
0:29:28 > 0:29:30- ..where the explosion happened.
0:29:31 > 0:29:32- It's gargantuan.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37- I can't really comprehend - the sheer scale of it.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- In the days, weeks and years - following the accident...
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- ..some 600,000 workers - liquidators - from all over the Soviet Union...
0:29:47 > 0:29:50- ..attempted to clean up - the radioactive pollution.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55- It was dangerous work - and 30 of the workers...
0:29:55 > 0:29:58- ..died in the three months - following the accident.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05- Even today, the liquidators...
0:30:05 > 0:30:09- ..are seen as heroes who stopped - the fallout being much worse.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16- Since 2007, a French consortium - has been building...
0:30:16 > 0:30:20- ..a more secure barrier - above the old sarcophagus.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24- I've been invited to see the site.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31- There are 3,000 people - working on the building project.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- People from 23 countries work here.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37- Amongst all of them, - there's one Welshman.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- How tall is it?
0:30:39 > 0:30:47- It is just under 110m tall. - It's 200m wide.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- John Morgan is originally - from Letterston in Pembrokeshire.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54- He's one of the - managers responsible...
0:30:54 > 0:30:58- ..for creating one of the - world's largest moving structures.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01- It's an enormous challenge...
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- ..when you consider - the environmental conditions...
0:31:04 > 0:31:08- ..and when you think - that the arch has to be here...
0:31:08 > 0:31:14- ..for 100 years - - it's a design life of 100 years.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18- Millions of man hours - have gone in to engineering.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23- The project will be finished - within about eighteen months...
0:31:23 > 0:31:25- ..at a cost of 1.2 billion.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28- There's another Welsh connection - here.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- All the bolts that hold this - building together come from Wales.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37- In this particular project there's - in the region of 650,000 bolts.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40- These are actually produced - by a company...
0:31:41 > 0:31:43- ..called Tension Control Bolts - in Wrexham.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- All the way from North Wales - to the Ukraine.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52- John Morgan started working - on the project last year.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56- The next step will be to slip the - structure over reactor number 4...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59- ..which will allow - the authorities...
0:31:59 > 0:32:03- ..to start dealing - with the radioactivity in there.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06- It's a phenomenal structure.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10- It's a phenomenal project - and it's a unique project.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13- It's the only one of its kind - in the world...
0:32:13 > 0:32:17- ..and hopefully we will never - see another project like this again.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25- In the 30 kilometres - surrounding the reactor...
0:32:26 > 0:32:30- ..there were two cities - and 187 villages.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37- Zalisia is one of those - empty villages.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- Zalisia means behind the forest.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51- By now, the whole village - is in the forest.
0:32:53 > 0:32:59- Since man disappeared, nature has - reclaimed the majority of the area.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04- Numbers of wolves and brown bears - have increased significantly...
0:33:04 > 0:33:07- ..despite the high levels - of radioactivity.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10- With a population of 3,000...
0:33:10 > 0:33:14- ..Zalisia was one of - the largest villages in the area.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18- This was the village hall.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21- Dances and other events - were held here.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25- People enjoyed a jolly life here.
0:33:26 > 0:33:27- Look at it now.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34- At the edge of the village - lies Zalisia school.
0:33:34 > 0:33:40- In 1986, you could see it - from the road, but not any more.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45- It's a strange feeling, isn't it? - It's a very strange feeling.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- Thousands of people and children...
0:33:54 > 0:33:57- ..were shipped out - of the affected area on buses...
0:33:57 > 0:34:00- ..and were spread - all across Ukraine.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- Many went to Kiev and other - communities that already existed.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- Some communities got a new village - including Zalisia.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13- We're in Nova Zalisia - New Zalisia.
0:34:13 > 0:34:19- This is where the residents - of Zalisia came after the accident.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26- In 1990, I came here to film - the children at the school.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31- I hope that some of them - might be here today to meet me.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37- The new village is around 50 miles - south of the old Zalisia.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41- This is where I met Maria Dmytrenka - and her former pupils.
0:34:46 > 0:34:47- Good day. Dobry den.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- Do you remember this?
0:34:56 > 0:35:02- In 1990, I was looking into - the effects on children's health.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12- They are now over 30 years old...
0:35:12 > 0:35:16- ..and many feel - Chernobyl was a huge trauma.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22- Evacuation, radiation, all of it - obviously has its own effect on us.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24- Yes, we get ill.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26- When our parents lived in Zalisia...
0:35:26 > 0:35:30- ..they never knew anything - of cancer or oncological diseases.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34- This is unfortunately - quite common now.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42- They were small children in 1986 and - have little memory of the village.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46- Many say - that the psychological effects...
0:35:46 > 0:35:50- ..will be with them - and their parents for years.
0:35:52 > 0:35:58- Interestingly, the teacher and - 12 of the former pupils we met...
0:35:58 > 0:36:02- ..said that it had affected them...
0:36:02 > 0:36:06- ..but that nobody - from their class has died.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09- Some of them have been ill...
0:36:09 > 0:36:13- ..but they're glad - their children are healthy.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20- The journey to Ukraine in 1990...
0:36:20 > 0:36:24- ..was my first trip abroad - working for Y Byd Ar Bedwar.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26- I met Anatoli Artemenko.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30- He was a big help in organizing - the trip and translating.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- Hello, Anatoli, how are you?
0:36:35 > 0:36:39- We were roughly the same age - and became good friends.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44- Since we arrived this time, - I've been trying to meet him.
0:36:47 > 0:36:48- You are drinking.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- Oh, right. You're drinking - because of Chernobyl.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58- Once again, he's not available - to meet me.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03- OK, Anatoli, lovely talking to you. - See you tomorrow night then.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06- OK, goodbye.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- He's clearly under pressure. - He was drunk.
0:37:20 > 0:37:26- He said he'd been drinking heavily - since we got in touch...
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- ..because it brought - all the memories back.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38- He said that this psychological - problem was a huge one.
0:37:47 > 0:37:47- .
0:37:48 > 0:37:48- Subtitles
0:37:48 > 0:37:50- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- In 1990, I was in Kiev - in the old Soviet Union...
0:37:58 > 0:38:01- ..reporting for Y Byd Ar Bedwar...
0:38:01 > 0:38:05- ..on the fallout from the - worst nuclear disaster in history.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07- The cancer rate in children - was rising.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12- I was invited by a former clean-up - worker to film with his family...
0:38:13 > 0:38:15- ..after his son's death.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18- The Sunday before Easter...
0:38:18 > 0:38:22- ..Vasily Prisitch's ten-year-old son - died from bone cancer.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25- On Easter Monday, - he took flowers to his son's grave.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- The boy's parents were certain - that there was a link...
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- ..between the Chernobyl accident - and the boy's death.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45- They didn't tell us the truth.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49- They told us there wouldn't be - any side effects.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- We've suffered a disaster.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58- But it's a disaster - for the whole of the Soviet Union.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04- We can't keep quiet any more. - It's time for us to shout.
0:39:04 > 0:39:10- Today, it's our disaster. Tomorrow, - it will be someone else's turn.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- The true effect of the accident - is a contentious issue.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34- According to a - United Nations report...
0:39:34 > 0:39:38- ..up to 4,000 people are expected to - die because of Chernobyl.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44- Greenpeace disagrees. They say the - figure will be closer to 200,000.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52- As the Soviet economy disintegrated - at the end of the 1980s...
0:39:52 > 0:39:56- ..reliable data - wasn't readily available.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00- There are no clear records of - illnesses and diseases in Ukraine.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04- That makes it hard to say how many - have suffered because of Chernobyl.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15- Tatyana Lukina told me that - she'd collected her own data...
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- ..on the people who lived - in Pripyat during the accident.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25- I've come to meet her brother, - Vladimir, to see her records.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- This is the registry - of evacuated people.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34- According to Tatyana - and the group Pripyat +10...
0:40:34 > 0:40:39- ..half the children who left - the city died before turning 30.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44- That's 8,500 of the 17,000 children - living there.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46- Let's see now.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49- Death, how old?
0:40:52 > 0:40:53- 1980 to 2007.
0:40:59 > 0:41:00- Deaths here again.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- This one. Date of birth 1987, - died in 1995.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09- 87, 95, that's very young, isn't it?
0:41:17 > 0:41:20- I was eager to find out - who these dead children were.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24- Tatyana organised - a meeting for me...
0:41:24 > 0:41:27- ..with someone who moved - from Pripyat as a child.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30- Hello, Alexander.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38- Alexander Kharchenko was a young boy - when the reactor exploded.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43- The night after the accident, as - rumours spread about the accident...
0:41:43 > 0:41:47- ..his mother and younger brother - left in a car with family friends.
0:41:48 > 0:41:54- My father, middle brother - and I stayed in Pripyat.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- We were given tablets.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01- We only left at two in the - afternoon on the Sunday, by bus.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05- The buses came to every house - to collect people.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11- His father was a liquidator and - his parents' health has suffered.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15- Alexander has had two heart attacks.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20- The toughest blow was losing his - brother to cancer, the first at 23.
0:42:22 > 0:42:29- He had a grade-three growth - in his pelvis...
0:42:29 > 0:42:33- ..which spread to the lungs.
0:42:34 > 0:42:40- It says in this note that his death - is linked to the explosion...
0:42:40 > 0:42:42- ..at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50- Back at the start of the '90s, - I filmed at a children's hospital.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55- At the hospital, many said Chernobyl - was to blame for their illnesses.
0:42:59 > 0:43:00- Why do you think you lost your hair?
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- Why do you think you lost your hair?- - Chernobyl, I think.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10- In Kiev, there is a clinic which - specializes in thyroid cancer.
0:43:10 > 0:43:15- 5,000 people who were under 18 in - 1986 have developed thyroid cancer.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25- According to scientists...
0:43:26 > 0:43:29- ..cases of thyroid cancer were - fairly low in the early years.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34- Numbers have increased significantly - in recent years.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37- Some of the cancer cases - appeared at once...
0:43:38 > 0:43:42- ..within a couple of months - or maybe the first year.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47- The other cases of cancer - happen only now after some years.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51- Before that, the person was actually - quite healthy.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53- Just right now...
0:43:53 > 0:43:57- ..it appears that he has a problem - because of this attack.
0:43:58 > 0:43:59- In the thyroid?
0:43:59 > 0:44:00- In the thyroid?- - Yes.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04- The clinic keeps an eye - on the 16,000...
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- ..who would have been exposed to a - high level of radiation as children.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14- Before Chernobyl, one in two million - suffered from thyroid cancer.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18- One in every hundred of the group - that is being monitored...
0:44:18 > 0:44:20- ..have developed thyroid cancer.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25- I went to meet the clinic's head, - Professor Mykola Tronko.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28- Since the explosion at Chernobyl...
0:44:29 > 0:44:33- ..he has been researching - the effects of the accident.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37- I wanted to ask about Tatyana Lukina - and Pripyat +10's research...
0:44:38 > 0:44:40- ..and about why half - of Pripyat's children...
0:44:41 > 0:44:42- ..had died before the age of 30.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45- I want to believe these people.
0:44:45 > 0:44:56- But I tend to doubt the information - stating half the children have died.
0:44:56 > 0:45:06- As scientists, we have to proceed - on scientifically proven facts.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13- Despite there being 30 years - since the accident...
0:45:14 > 0:45:18- ..he says it's too early to say - what effect Chernobyl has had.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22- He thinks the state should do more - to help those suffering.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25- I'm talking about the victims...
0:45:25 > 0:45:29- ..and the liquidators - who cleaned up after Chernobyl.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32- The state is indebted to them. - That is a fact.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39- According to the authorities...
0:45:39 > 0:45:44- ..a small number, around 50, died - as a direct result of the accident.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48- Studies estimate that Chernobyl - will eventually cause...
0:45:48 > 0:45:51- ..around 4,000 deaths from cancer.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55- Anti-nuclear organisations - argue the number is much higher.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02- But maybe the truth is that we'll - never truly know the full cost...
0:46:02 > 0:46:05- ..of the worst nuclear disaster - in history.
0:46:10 > 0:46:15- Before leaving Ukraine, I try once - more to meet Anatoli Artemenko.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19- So there's no way we can meet up, - Anatoli?
0:46:20 > 0:46:21- "Sorry."
0:46:23 > 0:46:28- It's clear that Chernobyl - still casts a long shadow over him.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31- I understand.
0:46:33 > 0:46:34- Anatoli, thank you.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- In my language - "diolch yn fawr" - is thank you very much.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- You've been a true friend.
0:46:45 > 0:46:46- See you. All the best.
0:46:49 > 0:46:50- Goodbye.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03- The one thing I've understood - is that Chernobyl, the accident...
0:47:03 > 0:47:07- ..has had a much broader effect - than I had imagined.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15- The other times I was here...
0:47:15 > 0:47:19- ..I thought that everyone - blamed Chernobyl for everything.
0:47:19 > 0:47:25- Their health, their poverty. - Everything was Chernobyl's fault.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- After this visit, - I've come to understand...
0:47:34 > 0:47:38- ..that the effects went much further - and deeper than I'd thought.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47- It's certainly had a bad - psychological effect...
0:47:47 > 0:47:49- ..on many, many people.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54- That includes people that - I got to know on a personal level.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57- People like Anatoli Artemenko.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28- S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.
0:48:29 > 0:48:29- .