Published: TUESDAY March 10, 2026: 'Exclusion Zone: Chernobyl 40' Photography and Story by ZUMA Press photographer Matteo Placucci: April, 2026, marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the 1986 nuclear accident in Soviet Ukraine. 2 workers died in the initial blast, and 28 firefighters and plant staff died from Radiation Sickness and lomg term, W.H.O. projects around 4,000 to 9,000 deaths, other NGOs estimate much higher tolls. Four decades later, the site remains a complex symbol of catastrophic failure, ecological resilience, and ongoing security risks due to the Ukraine conflict. The area remains uninhabitable, with radioactive exclusion zones expected to persist for thousands of years. Chernobyl is one of the most contaminated places on Earth, though it has transformed significantly, and research shows that while radiation impacts persist in both wildlife and human, the area serves as a living laboratory for studying environmental recovery and adaptation. Welcome to 'Exclusion Zone: Chernobyl 40'
© zReportage.com Issue #1031 Story of the Week: Published: TUESDAY March 10, 2026: 'Exclusion Zone: Chernobyl 40' Photography and Story by ZUMA Press photographer Matteo Placucci: April, 2026, marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the 1986 nuclear accident in Soviet Ukraine. 2 workers died in the initial blast, and 28 firefighters and plant staff died from Radiation Sickness and lomg term, W.H.O. projects around 4,000 to 9,000 deaths, other NGOs estimate much higher tolls. Four decades later, the site remains a complex symbol of catastrophic failure, ecological resilience, and ongoing security risks due to the Ukraine conflict. The area remains uninhabitable, with radioactive exclusion zones expected to persist for thousands of years. Chernobyl is one of the most contaminated places on Earth, though it has transformed significantly, and research shows that while radiation impacts persist in both wildlife and human, the area serves as a living laboratory for studying environmental recovery and adaptation. Welcome to 'Exclusion Zone: Chernobyl 40'

Desks fill a classroom and papers cover the floor inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat, now a ghost town within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Bumper cars sit empty after a recent snowfall in the abandoned city of Pripyat which remains a ghost town within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

The remains of the gymnasium at a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat which remains a ghost town within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

A Soviet Union era sign depicting a shining hammer and sickle hangs on an electricity pole in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Stainglass windows display a mosaic depicting women and nature inside what was once a riverside cafe at the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Peeling graffiti depicting a child inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Child gas masks inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

A broken clock leans against a classroom wall with peeling paint inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Rusty chair stands alone inside what was once a riverside cafe in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Children gas masks seen through a tv frame, scatter the floor inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat. The town was designed as the Soviet Union's ninth 'atomgrad' (atomic city), a prestigious, high-tech urban center intended to be a model of socialist progress.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Children gas masks and anatomy sign scatter the floor of a classroom inside a school in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

A city sign at the entrance of the abandoned city of Pripyat. 1970 marks the birth of Pripyat, a city founded to house the workers and families of the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was designed as the Soviet Union's ninth 'atomgrad' (atomic city), a prestigious, high-tech urban center intended to be a model of socialist progress.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Soviet Union era sign depicting the first Prime Minister Vladimir Lenin (left) and a worker in the abandoned city of Pripyat. Pripyat, a city founded to house the workers and families of the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was designed as the Soviet Union's ninth 'atomgrad' or atomic city.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Old Chernobyl monument and nuclear contaminated area signs at the edge of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and exclusion zone area.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

The ferris wheel stands still at the amusement park in the abandoned city of Pripyat which remains a ghost town within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Nuclear contaminated area sign warns of high radiation in a wooded area in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Radiation levels in the Chernobyl wooded areas, particularly the 'Red Forest,' remain highly contaminated, with hotspots of cesium-137 and strontium-90.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Reactor 4 covered by the sarcophagus and huge steel roof in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exclusion zone area. Radiation levels in the Chernobyl wooded areas, particularly the ''Red Forest,'' remain highly contaminated, with hotspots of cesium-137 and strontium-90.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Graffiti depicting a hand holding an atom and Przewalski's wild horses at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire

Graffiti depicting moose painted on a wall in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
© Matteo Placucci/ZUMA Press Wire