It’s been nearly 10 years since I first visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It was a great experience for me. I could finally see the place I’d previously only known from books and TV and the tart taste of the Lugol’s iodine I had to drink a few days after the disaster.

After many visits to the plant, I was finally even allowed to enter the damaged Reactor 4 and see the notorious control room. It was here that the failed experiment resulting in the reactor exploding and the uncontrolled emission into the atmosphere of terabecquerels of radioactive isotopes was conducted. A decade ago, obtaining the necessary permits to see the epicenter of the events of April 1986 was extremely arduous and complicated. Today, this place is a must-see on most tourist excursions.

Today I return once again to the plant. This time, I want to see new places that I haven’t yet photographed. When I got permission after several months of effort, sending letters and making phone calls, I was very excited. As one of the staff members in charge of my visit said, I had been granted exclusive access to the nuclear power plant. I can’t wait to find out what this actually means.