A QUARTER CENTURY after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986 in the Ukraine, European countries remain deeply divided over the use of nuclear power. Some are embracing nuclear energy, while others are phasing out their old plants.
The Polish government has announced plans to build two nuclear power plants by 2020. Nuclear power is seen as a way of reducing Poland’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, an issue that has grown in importance since Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine earlier last year. Support for the nuclear option appears to be growing in Poland, and with it comes great fear for some. Experts once argued that the risk of a nuclear accident was almost nonexistent—but that was before Chernobyl.
Twenty-four years after the Chernobyl tragedy, Warsaw-based photographer Maciek Nabrdalik first went to the site to explore the Exclusion Zone and the surrounding villages. He has since returned four times.
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