On 26 April 1986, the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded during a routine stress test. Watch a rapid timelapse of the structure's growth, in five seconds. Now the whole site is about to be encased inside a vast structure known as the sarcophagus, sealing in some of the most dangerous waste material in the world for at least 100 years. It also set in train a series of measures to ensure nuclear safety around the world. And other serious accidents, such as that at Fukushima in Japan in 2011 – the only other incident to be classified a maximum Level 7 in the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale – are weighed against it. The Chernobyl disaster still casts a pall over nuclear power. These guests are here to witness the final stage of a 30-year clean-up job that has been underway, on and off, since one of the plant’s reactors exploded in 1986. The tent has many windows, to ensure everyone gets a good view of what’s about to happen. It would all seem quite normal were it not for the fact that we’re just 100m (330ft) away from the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history.Ī hospitality tent has been erected just inside the gates of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Pripyat in Ukraine. World leaders jostle with global executives and anonymous men dressed in full camouflage as platters of shrimp, foie gras and cheesecake are passed around by white-gloved staff. This story is featured in BBC Future’s “Best of 2017” collection.
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