and isn't it telling that one receives more accurate, detailed information from a really good fiction author that actually does the research?
Was that there were/are some individuals that never left the zone. They are mostly elderly Ukrainians that lived there all their lives. Their kids have all left, but they remain with their livestock producing products they ingest, etc. They grow cabbage and potatoes, etc. and eat them. There are also scientific teams that have been there, rotating since the disaster to avoid accumulation of too much radiation during their stays. Everyone with any knowledge has a dosimeter on their person at all times, as one does not know when they step into an area or a building if it will still be hot and their instruments alert them to such.
Unreal that there are scavengers still trying to eak a living out of the place, and most are dying a very slow death from the accumulated radiation over time. Yes, some of the wildlife appears to be flourishing (few predators) and an interesting thing happened to that wildlife. After now a few generations of let's say, deer have been born, and with very few if any people around, they have lost that instinctual fear of humans. They roam around quite unconcerned about humans, because, well, no one has bothered to hunt those deer for several deer generations and the evolutionary traits of that experience have somewhat re-programmed them.
No mistake, the exclusion zone is still deadly dangerous in areas and will be for many decades to come. Scientists do stay to gather data for as long as they can safely do so, then rotate out.
"...the commission is satisfied that the plant's structure will be able to withstand an earthquake in the area -- calculated as a maximum magnitude of 7.5..."
http://m.aol.com/portal/file-01.do?file=N9992%2FN4133%2FN512344133%2Ftnsc-372415489.htmlNRC on fact there is no earthquake preparedness plan in place at California's Diablo Canyon to deal with Japan-sized earthquake/tsunami.
"...Me, I'm waiting so patiently
Lying on the floor
I'm just trying to do my jig-saw puzzle
Before it rains anymore..."
Jagger/Richards
rdb