The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986, is considered the worst nuclear accident in world history. On the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, it shares the highest rating with only Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. In the early hours of Saturday, a botched safety test caused a series of explosions and fires in Reactor 4.

The "Bridge of Death" is a railroad bridge that connects Pripyat and Chernobyl Town. The Bridge earned it's nickname when rumors began to circulate that residents of Pripyat came to the bridge to watch Chernobyl's roof burn, receiving a fatal dose of radiation in the process and later all dying of radiation injuries or sickness. These rumors likely inspired the bridge scene featured in HBO's miniseries, Chernobyl.However, there is no evidence of this event actually happening. It is most likely that almost everyone in Pripyat slept through the event. A survivor, then eight or nine at the time, did indeed bicycle to the bridge and watch, but he is still alive and healthy today.

Located in Ukraine 2.5 km from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) and founded in 1970, Pripyat was the ninth Soviet atomograd (atom city). It was designed for workers at the CNPP and their families. In 1986 Pripyat was home to 47,500 people and was expected to hold 75-85 thousand someday. Known as the City of Roses, 30,000 Baltic rose bushes were planted there to enhance the already beautiful setting where nature and science lived together in peace. That peace was tenuous and following the explosion of reactor four at the CNPP, the city was evacuated and remains a ghost town. In recent years, tourism has taken hold and Pripyat has become a model for Japanese officials hoping to revive the area around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

The forest surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) was an area the citizens of Pripyat cherished. After the explosion at reactor four, the environment was changed forever and the 10 square kilometer (3.86 square mile) area surrounding the CNPP became known as the Red Forest. With the people in Pripyat and other affected villages evacuated, the forest became a living lab to study the long-term effects of high radiation levels on ecosystems. The area has caught fire often in the years since the disaster and when it burns, radiation trapped in the trees is released into the air.

Duga was an over-the-horizon radar system, created by the Soviets to act as an early warning system during the cold war. Only two sites were created for Duga: Duga-1, located in Chernobyl, and Duga-2, located in Eastern Siberia. The third site was never built. Duga-1 operated from July 1976 until December 1986, as the radiation given off by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant made it too dangerous to stay on site, thus forcing the abandonment of the station. During it's time in service, many conspiracy theories arose around the distinctive 10HZ tapping noise the antennas gave off, with the noise being later nicknamed the "Russian Woodpecker."

Slavutych is the city that was built as a result of the disaster. Located 50 kilometers from Chernobyl, Slavutych was made to house many of those that had to evacuate from Pripyat. Construction for the city began in the Fall of 1986 and by October of 1988 the first settlers had moved in.

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In 1996, on the 10 year anniversary of the disaster, the Monument to Those Who Saved the World was unveiled. The Monument was funded and created by Chernobyl firefighters. With sculptures made of concrete, which is rumored to be the same concrete fed to the Sarcophagus when the structure was built, it stands in front of the fire station that sent the team of first responders to the site.