Site of Chernobyl Disaster (05:38)

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Food Writer Stefan Gates travels to northern Ukraine, where much of the land is still toxic from the nuclear fallout at the Chernobyl Power Station. He enters the exclusion zone around the site, where radiation levels are three times higher than normal. Some people still live inside the exclusion zone and accommodations cater to scientists studying the site.

Conditions in the Exclusion Zone (05:47)

A monitoring team regularly checks the soil inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone for radioactive material. Gates travels to Pripyat, the abandoned town were power plant workers used to live. Animals, such as wild boar, have thrived in the zone because of the lack of human interference.

Life in the Exclusion Zone (07:46)

About 300 people have moved back into the exclusion zone since the disaster. Some grow their own food and raise animals on the contaminated land. Gates was told not to eat anything from the exclusion zone.

Life in Slavutych (04:45)

Gates travels to the town of Slavutych, which was built to house the evacuated workers and people from Chernobyl. Some of the nearby fields were contaminated and vendors must have their goods checked for radiation. Many in town work monitoring and cleaning up the Chernobyl site.

Radiation Concerns (04:00)

The radiation testing center finds the mushrooms Gates picked with the mayor of Slavutych contained high levels of radiation. In Kiev, Gates gets tested for radiation after his time in Chernobyl and Slavutych. He picked up some radiation but was within safe limits.

Credits: Cooking In The Danger Zone: Series 2: Chernobyl (00:31)

Credits: Cooking In The Danger Zone: Series 2: Chernobyl