Chernobyl vs Hiroshima: why one city was reborn while the other remains a zone.

In the 20th century, the world witnessed three catastrophes that changed attitudes toward nuclear technologies. Two occurred in Japan at the end of World War II, while the third happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. Japanese cities recovered, while Chernobyl has remained a dangerous zone for decades.

In August 1945, America dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands of people. There was an increase in cancer and other diseases, but radiation levels in the cities decreased, allowing for recovery.

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 spread radioactive substances over a wide area, leaving the exclusion zone unsafe for habitation. Hundreds of thousands of people suffered from radiation exposure, and the effects continue to this day.

The difference lies in the magnitude and composition of the emissions: nuclear bombs decay faster than the gradually decaying radioactive elements from Chernobyl. This nature of contamination explains the difference in the recovery of Japan's cities and Chernobyl's abandonment.

Following the tragic events in Japan and Chernobyl, the reaction to nuclear technologies has become a subject of in-depth study. The recovery of cities in Japan was relatively quick, as the radiation from the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki dissipated rapidly. At the same time, the long-term consequences of the Chernobyl disaster have resulted in the area around the plant still being unsafe for people.