[faucetman]

““Chernobyl was pretty much under control for decades,”

Yes, Chernobyl, while not nothing, was NEVER the disaster it could have been or was portrayed to be.

The effects were very localized, and life for some humans and all wildlife and plants in the zone, continued as normal up to and including today.

You can take tours of the towns and at the reactor site itself. BUS TOURS!

Bus Tours in Chernobyl.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298058-Activities-c42-t174-Chernobyl_Kiev_Oblast.html

[GingisK]

If you do any reading about that you will find that nobody is allowed to get off of the roads for a romp through the woods. Rains have washed the roads but radioactive particles linger in the other areas, particularly buildings.

People come in to take parts off of the acres of abandon vehicles. Those people tend to develop cancer.