• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Man visits ‘most radioactive thing in Chernobyl’ to show chilling reality

Home> News> World News

Updated 20:51 30 Jan 2026 GMTPublished 20:41 30 Jan 2026 GMT

Man visits ‘most radioactive thing in Chernobyl’ to show chilling reality

It's not something you'd want to spend a lot of time around

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

These days, you can't really visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone because Russia insists on invading Ukraine and has made several strikes on the power plant itself.

Investigators have warned that the protective dome built over reactor number four lost its 'primary safety function' after a Russian drone strike last year.

Fortunately, the experts judged that the risk of radioactive contamination was 'low' due to other protections, but officials on the ground warned that if the Russians hit another part of the area it could have a much more serious impact.

Coming up to 40 years after the disaster itself, it is still a dangerous place to be, though it didn't stop people visiting before the war.

Advert

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, people could actually explore parts of the exclusion zone set up around the disaster zone, and a man visited the 'most radioactive thing' you can find there.

'The Claw' is still contaminated by radiation (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
'The Claw' is still contaminated by radiation (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

One of the things left behind in the exclusion zone is a claw which was once attached to a digger and used to dig radioactive material from the wreckage of the destroyed reactor.

A lot of things were left behind in the area around Chernobyl and this claw is one of them.

YouTuber Tom visited the exclusion zone several years ago and approached the claw, where he measured the level of radiation as it set his device off screaming and he picked up some 'hotspots' on the wreckage.

This giant metal claw was once used to move dangerous material from one of the world's worst disasters, so it's natural that it would register as radioactive.

Of course, it's not that dangerous to stand next to for a little while, as he said it was 'just sitting in the forest outside of Pripyat' and was allowed to go right up to it, but even still it's evidence that a disaster which occurred almost 40 years ago is still having an effect on the world around it.

The claw has actually become something of a tourist attraction as people have in the past climbed on it and posed for a picture.

According to Radiation Answers, spending a few minutes in the company of the claw would only result in someone getting a few microsieverts of radiation, so while you probably wouldn't want to live right next to it, you're not going to ruin your lifespan by seeing it.

While the claw is considered one of the more iconic pieces of Chernobyl wreckage in the exclusion zone, the real danger is the thing beneath the reactor itself, the infamous Elephant's Foot.

That's a mass of very radioactive material found in the bowels of the building which you would definitely not allow tourists to go anywhere near.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Tom

Topics: Chernobyl, Ukraine, YouTube

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • WNS
    2 hours ago

    Mystery surrounds eerie UK village visited by King Charles where no one ever moved in

    It was meant to house over 10,000 residents

    News
  • Jim Spellman/Getty
    2 hours ago

    World's largest bank changes Bitcoin forecast as The Big Short's Michael Burry warns over crash

    Bitcoin hit record highs in October 2025, but it has been bleak ever since

    News
  • Al Drago/Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    White House silently removes racist video after Donald Trump branded 'despicable'

    The president shared a video which depicted the Obamas as apes

    News
  • Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT/GettyImages
    5 hours ago

    All USA athletes returning home from Winter Olympics with $200,000 after billionaire's gift

    Team USA athletes at the 2026 Olympics get to keep Ross Stevens' gift even if they don't win

    News
  • Man dropped GoPro into ocean from cruise ship to show ‘terrifying’ true reality of what’s underneath
  • People make chilling observation about camera footage as man walked near Elephant's Foot in Chernobyl
  • Man who dropped GoPro off cruise to show ‘terrifying’ reality shared truth behind footage
  • Disturbing reality of ‘most dangerous object on Earth’ that can kill you in just minutes