In early September 2012, representatives of the State Agency for the Management of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone stated that many of the houses in Pripyat are highly dangerous. They may be demolished in the near future.
For more than 26 years, the city of Pripyat, near the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant, has stood virtually untouched since the accident. Many of the houses are badly dilapidated and in disrepair. In many ways, this is facilitated by vegetation: trees grow right in the houses. In addition, the level of radiation in buildings is extremely high. Since they are visited from time to time by research groups, and often by looters, they can pose a danger to human lives and the surrounding space. The Ukrainian authorities decided to blow up and re-bury these buildings.
Inside most of the houses there is a sad picture: dilapidated staircases, broken glass, walls cracked from rain, frost and sun. However, according to representatives of the territory supervision, all buildings should not necessarily be subject to destruction. Some buildings will be left as a museum, while others will be demolished. The authorities say that this will happen no earlier than in 2 years, as funds are expected to be allocated from the state budget. Huge expenditures will be required not so much by the dismantling itself as by the disposal of nuclear waste. However, the decision made is final, as scientists observing the state of the zone claim that within 10 years the houses will collapse on their own.
The dismantling of buildings can strike a blow on the tourism business, since the inspection of Pripyat is one of the main "chips" during excursions to the Chernobyl zone. Among the most popular buildings among tourists are the Prometheus cinema, a multi-storey building with the USSR emblem on it, an apartment with a tear-off calendar with the date of the disaster, the Polesie hotel, a pier, Energetik recreation center and the famous Ferris wheel. The authorities fear that in connection with the announcement of the imminent dismantling of structures, unauthorized forays into the city and looting will become more frequent. In August, more than 20 hunters for antiquity have already been detained in the zone.
