The Claw of Death
The Chernobyl tragedy happened almost 40 years ago, but it has not been forgotten to this day. The huge exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant keeps many terrible exhibits on its territory, for example, the claw of death.

One of the Most Radioactive Sights of Chernobyl
The claw of death or a radioactive bucket – this particular exhibit is being sought as one of the most dangerous and radioactive in Pripyat.
The artifact, which both scares and attracts tourists, is hidden between the trees. The bucket took its place from the moment when the operation to clean up the yard of the Chernobyl plant was ended.
Today, it is located in the yard of the Service of Special Engineering Works in Pripyat. The claw was used in the decontamination process of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. According to different data, it was involved in cleaning up the roof of the exploded unit either from concrete or uranium and graphite debris.
Why the bucket was left in the middle of the road is not clear. Probably in a hurry, the bucket was simply left in place and forgotten about. But thanks to this, it turned into an interesting exhibit, which is always included in the tours to Chernobyl.

What is the Radiation Level Near the Claw of Death
Even now, it is highly contaminated. You can measure there from a couple of dozens of microsieverts to more than thousands μSv/hour.
According to the dosimeter, the radiation level at a distance of 10 meters from the claw of death is already off the scale. And near it, gamma radiation is 130 micro roentgen per hour.
Notice that the natural background is considered to be no more than 20 mR / h. The average annual dose according to SanPiN for a person is 0.5 roentgen (together with 3-fold fluorography per year, and civil aviation flights).

Is It Dangerous to Visit the Claw of Death
Despite the increased level of radiation it is not too dangerous to approach the bucket itself, even on an official excursion to Chernobyl this place is included in the program. Of course, it’s not good to go for a walk every day to places with high radiation levels. But to catch a deadly dose, you’ll have to settle down there for a long time.
So visiting it isn’t dangerous taking into account general safety rules of the zone. For example, if you take the figure 13 mR / h, then you can get into the bucket and sit there for 38 hours to get some dangerous dose of radiation. You should not do this of course. But many people who come to visit Chernobyl take photos near the claw of death or right in it.
The strangest thing is that the bucket is still just lying on the surface not far from the accident place. It cannot be buried or melted due to the possible irradiation of the soil and groundwater. You can see The Claw of Death with your own eyes with our exclusive Chernobyl tours.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant tours have become a popular tourist destination due to the apocalyptic looks of the area and the atmosphere of silence.
- - Abandoned Zalissya village
- - Huge secret radar “Duga-1” and the Chernobyl–2 town
- - Almost fully buried under the ground village Kopachi and the still standing kindergarten
- - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant covered by the new safe confinement – the Arch
- - The NPP cooling pond with giant catfish
- - The Red Forest
- - The fire station
- - The town of Pripyat
Pripyat has become extremely popular tourist destination, and many choose to book tours to Pripyat to see the town with their own eyes.
- - Abandoned Zalissya village
- - Huge secret radar “Duga-1” and the Chernobyl–2 town
- - Almost fully buried under the ground village Kopachi and the still standing kindergarten
- - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant covered by the new safe confinement – the Arch
- - The NPP cooling pond with giant catfish
- - The Red Forest
- - The fire station
- - The town of Pripyat
We have created a special tour for visitors called “HBO Chernobyl” with the locations from the movie.
- - The fire station (the place from where the first firemen went to liquidate the fire)
- - The legendary Bridge of Death
- - The city of Pripyat, where almost all the places from the movie can be visited
- - Nuclear Power Plant
- - Listen to the true stories about the explosion
- - Visit left homes
- - Walk through the town and feel the atmosphere of Chernobyl itself
The one-day trip gives you the opportunity to immerse into the exact same area where the most dreadful disaster took place. The radiation background is still excessively high in some places, but we offer you a safe route through this dire Zone, together with necessary protection equipment.
- - Abandoned Zalissya village
- - Huge secret radar “Duga-1” and the Chernobyl–2 town
- - Almost fully buried under the ground village Kopachi and the still standing kindergarten
- - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant covered by the new safe confinement – the Arch
- - The NPP cooling pond with giant catfish
- - The Red Forest
- - The fire station
- - The town of Pripyat
The two-day trip to the Chernobyl Zone opens for you the door to this unique place. In this short time, you will get not only the tour around Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Pripyat town, but also the exclusive experience to spend the night in an empty town. This is definitely the deepest dive into the history of the drastic disaster.
- - Abandoned Zalissya village
- - Huge secret radar “Duga-1” and the Chernobyl–2 town
- - Almost fully buried under the ground village Kopachi and the still standing kindergarten
- - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant covered by the new safe confinement – the Arch
- - The NPP cooling pond with giant catfish
- - The Red Forest
- - The fire station
- - The town of Pripyat (exploring for 2 days)
- - The unfinished NPP
- - Graveyard of the vehicles and Yanov train station
- - Accommodation in a hotel in the town of Chernobyl
The three-day program includes a huge amount of sites to visit. Professional guides will explain the reasons and chronology of events that were happening during the most dreadful nuclear disaster in the world’s history. The real-based stories told by the guide will give you the shivers, so tragic they are. You will relieve the events of that dreadful night of explosion together with the ex-residents of Pripyat town.
- - River port in Chernobyl town with sunken boats
- - An abandoned Synagogue
- - The command centre of Duga-1
- - The fire station, school and cinema in Chernobyl-2
- - “Bridge of Death”
- - Pripyat river port and riverside café
- - Pripyat hospital 126
- - The list of locations for this tour also includes the places from tours with less days
This four-day trip makes it easier for you to get permission to enter the Extinction Zone, because we take care of official confirmations. Besides, we provide you will all the necessary protection. It is vital while traveling these, since the complete decay of the last radioactive element in the contaminated areas (plutonium-239) to the state of natural material will occur in 26486, or 24,500 years after the explosion.
- - Exploring Chernobyl town
- - Remote villages of 30km zone
- - Unfinished unit 5 (from the distance)
- - Tractor farm of Kopachi village
- - “White house” in Pripyat
- - Pripyat nursery
- - Pripyat sport complex
- - The list of locations for this tour also includes the places from tours with less days
Nothing is better than planning a five-day trip to the Chernobyl Zone! We offer you the opportunity to learn the most important facts about the night of the tragedy, alongside fascinating myths and legends about the place. Following the stories of your guides, you will have the chance to wander around the ghost towns of Chernobyl and Pripyat. Don’t miss out on the occasion to hang around the streets and locations from the world-renowned series!
- - Krasne village with wooden church built in 1800
- - Leliv village
- - Cooling pond of the power plant
- - Mosaics along the main avenue in Pripyat
- - Pripyat school
- - Pripyat piano shop
- - Kids` hospital in Pripyat
- - The list of locations for this tour also includes the places from tours with less days
This six-day trip to the Chernobyl Zone will open the Zone to you with top-secret information from our guides. During these six days, you will get the opportunity to explore the ghost towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl by yourself and it is not a secret that the Exclusion Zone has a lot of fascinating places.
- - Church in Chernobyl (the only active one in the zone)
- - Cooling towers for 3rd generation of reactors
- - Vehicles graveyard in Pripyat
- - Pripyat morgue
- - The claw
- - “Jupiter” factory
- - Pripyat police station
- - The list of locations for this tour also includes the places from tours with less days
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