--- title: "YouTuber Clambers Inside Chernobyl’s Nuclear Sarcophagus" description: "The Deadliest Area In October 2021, months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, YouTuber Kyle Hill got an exclusive look inside the New Safe Confinement (NSC) \"sarcophagus\" at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It's a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes, a rare tour of the ground zero of one of the worst nuclear disaster in human history […]" date: "2022-09-15" modified: "2022-09-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtuber-inside-chernobyl-nuclear-sarcophagus" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "chernobyl" - "nuclear power plant" - "Russia" - "the digest" - "ukraine" --- # YouTuber Clambers Inside Chernobyl’s Nuclear Sarcophagus ![In October 2021, months before Russia's invasion, a YouTuber got an exclusive look inside the New Safe Confinement site at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.]() *\Image: Kyle Hill via YouTube\* ## Duke Nukem In October 2021, months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, YouTuber Kyle Hill got a rare glimpse inside the New Safe Confinement (NSC) "sarcophagus" at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It's a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes, a rare tour of the ground zero of one of the worst nuclear disaster in human history — and a terrifying reminder of what is at stake given the ongoing war in the country. The nuclear plant was [taken over]() by Russian forces earlier this year, with employees reportedly working at gunpoint to keep the systems running. Russian troops later abandoned the site, reportedly [suffering radiation poisoning]() as they fled the scene. https://youtu.be/bhKlaIoGzWU ## Tomb Raider The NSC is a gigantic structure — taller than the Statue of Liberty and large enough to fit the Roman Coliseum inside of it — designed to roll over the number 4 reactor that was at the epicenter of the 1986 disaster in 2016. It's "a nuclear tomb to shelter to shelter the corpse of Chernobyl for a target of 100 years," Hill said in his video. To tour the inside of the NSC requires express permission from the government, and it isn't exactly for the faint of heart (Chernobyl tours typically [only view it from the outside]().) The process involves multiple checkpoints, radiation meters, and protective gear. Given the health hazard involved, visitors are instructed to leave the area immediately if a certain threshold of radiation is met. "The ambient radiation rate is over 100 times higher than almost anywhere else in the \[Chernobyl Exclusionary Zone\]," Hill noted over the loud beeping of his radiation monitor. ## Piece by Piece Workers at the site are now dismantling what remains of the reactor piece by piece using gigantic cranes inside of the NSC. "The goal of Chernobyl's cleanup is to have no more Chernobyl," Hill said. There are still an [estimated 200 tons]() of radioactive fuel inside what's left of the reactor, and cleanup will still [take decades](). But Russia's invasion and capture of the site has likely set those efforts back significantly. Shortly after the capture, [officials recorded increased radiation levels]() from the defunct plant. And while Russian troops have long abandoned the site, the situation is far from back to normal. In fact, Russian forces have already chosen a new target: Ukraine's [Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant](), the largest in Europe. **More on Ukraine's nuclear plants:** [*Russia Warns That Nuclear Plant It Captured May Leak Waste Over Europe*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()