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It's no surprise that humans have a tendency to modify our surroundings to fit our comfort, a practice we've been following since the advent of agriculture. While many places are still habitable, there are some that have been so severely impacted that they are no longer suitable or safe for human habitation.
Whether due to neglect, military experiments, or climate change, humans have been damaging the Earth for thousands of years. In the last century, our actions have escalated to such an extent that simply staying overnight in some of these locations could prove fatal.
10. Anthrax Island(s)
If the title didn’t make it clear, any place known as “Anthrax Island” is best avoided. There are three such islands scattered around the globe, all used by the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union for testing biological weapons like anthrax. But the deadly experiments didn’t stop there.
Gruinard Island, located off Scotland's coast, was used by the UK during World War II for anthrax testing. It was deemed uninhabitable due to years of anthrax spore contamination, remaining unsafe until the late 20th century.
Vozrozhdeniya Island, situated in the Aral Sea and split between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was a Soviet biological weapons testing site in the early 1950s. Though plans were made to decontaminate the island, the collapse of the USSR prevented this. Some areas have been cleaned, but it's still best not to disturb the soil.
Lastly, the United States controls and operates the Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the coast of New York. In an attempt to sell the land, the government was required to conduct an environmental impact study to assess contamination levels.
9. The Korean DMZ
You might assume that a demilitarized zone (DMZ) would be a peaceful area. However, the term “demilitarized” is somewhat misleading, as it refers to a stretch of land separating North Korea and South Korea, which is essentially a no-man's-land.
Stretching over 250 kilometers (155 miles) and roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide, this zone holds the largest concentration of antipersonnel land mines in the world. The presence of the DMZ led the United States to refuse signing an international treaty that bans these deadly weapons, which inflict far more harm on civilians than on soldiers.
Entering the DMZ is an incredibly dangerous endeavor. Although occasional incursions occur, very few people manage to cross the border safely. Both military sides vigilantly patrol the area, making unauthorized entry extremely challenging.
If you somehow found yourself in the DMZ, the likelihood of getting caught or detained is slightly lower than the chance of stepping on something, hearing a sharp click, and losing your leg.
8. Gilman, Colorado
Gilman, Colorado, was established in 1886 during the Colorado Silver Boom. It has since become a modern-day ghost town, following a permanent evacuation order in 1984 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The town was deserted due to severe contamination of the groundwater, caused by reckless mining practices that released hazardous levels of zinc, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and sulfides starting in the early 20th century.
Although Gilman was never large, its population once reached around 300 people, fluctuating over time. It has since been designated a Superfund site, a federal program for sites so heavily polluted that they are no longer livable and require extensive cleanup.
The town remains largely unchanged since its abandonment. Though vandals have shattered every window, the houses, bowling alley, and even personal vehicles still sit deserted in the ghost town.
7. Bikini Atoll
You may be familiar with the Bikini Atoll atomic tests of the 1950s, but visiting the area is off-limits. The original residents of the island have been exiled for 71 years due to the US nuclear tests.
On March 1, 1954, the United States detonated the Bravo hydrogen bomb, a 15-megaton nuclear device that obliterated three islands and had over 1,000 times the destructive power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The fallout has rendered the islands uninhabitable and deadly to this day.
Starting in 1946, the United States conducted a total of 67 nuclear tests on and around Bikini Atoll and the Marshall Islands. Of those, 23 explosions took place directly on, above, or below Bikini Atoll itself.
Believe it or not, a few caretakers still reside on the island. They perform regular soil tests and work on cleanup strategies to mitigate the radioactive impact.
Efforts have been made to repopulate the island with its original inhabitants and their descendants. However, these attempts have been halted due to the overwhelming presence of strontium-90, a substance that humans should avoid at all costs if they care about their bones. (It causes bone cancer, leukemia, and a range of other deadly diseases.)
6. Picher, Oklahoma
Picher, Oklahoma, is the perfect destination if you're looking for lead poisoning. This modern ghost town was abandoned by the EPA due to the widespread underground mining activity throughout the area.
A study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers revealed that 86% of the buildings (including the school) were structurally compromised and at risk of collapsing. However, crumbling buildings weren’t the town’s only issue. In 1996, an EPA study found that 34% of the children in Picher had suffered from lead poisoning.
Once, Picher was the economic heart of the region, thanks to its abundant lead and zinc mining. At its peak, the town had a population exceeding 20,000, with more than 14,000 miners working the area.
But years of unchecked excavation and poor waste disposal practices rendered the town uninhabitable, leading to its designation as a Superfund site. Toxic metal piles are scattered throughout, further contaminating the already polluted groundwater.
After the government purchased the land and relocated the residents, Picher became a barren wasteland. As if that weren’t enough, a tornado ravaged much of the town in 2008, and the last remaining resident passed away just a few years later.
5. Wittenoom, Australia
After a few years, we came to understand that asbestos is incredibly harmful to humans. It leads to mesothelioma, a disease that’s both deadly and difficult to pronounce. As a result, efforts have been made to clean and remove asbestos wherever it’s been discovered.
In the 1960s, Wittenoom, Australia, was the largest producer of blue asbestos on the entire continent. However, by 2013, the town was officially shut down because of the dangerously high concentrations of blue asbestos throughout the area.
By the late 1970s, as the severe risks of asbestos became undeniable, the government began to phase out Wittenoom. The town had grown increasingly hazardous, and with breathing becoming a serious concern, the decision to close it down seemed inevitable.
By 2015, the Australian government had officially stripped the town of its recognition, making it effectively nonexistent. Some residents held out until then, but when the government no longer acknowledges the place where you live as a legitimate location, it's time to find a new home.
Three individuals seem to have missed the memo, as they continue to defy all reason and remain in the town, refusing to leave.
4. Centralia, Pennsylvania
If you're ever in Pennsylvania, make sure to avoid a tiny mining town called Centralia. This place has been burning for 55 years and, if the predictions hold, it could keep going for another 250 years.
Yes, you read that correctly. It would be wise to heed the warnings posted throughout the area, cautioning travelers about the imminent dangers of asphyxiation or being swallowed by the ground... which is often on fire.
Centralia once boasted a small population of 1,000 people, but it now exists as a modern ghost town, thanks to an underground fire that continues to consume vast amounts of coal. While the townspeople managed to extinguish the flames above ground, the fire still rages below and shows no sign of stopping.
Cracks in the ground appear frequently, releasing sulfurous gases that pose lethal risks to anyone or anything nearby. Only 12 people remain in Centralia, holding firm in their decision to stay. But they make up a mere 1 percent of the town's original inhabitants. For most, moving to Centralia is essentially a death sentence, and it's not a place you should consider visiting while driving through Pennsylvania.
3. Fukushima Exclusion Zone, Japan
Following the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, a massive tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, leading to three catastrophic nuclear meltdowns.
While the Fukushima disaster may seem like a natural catastrophe, an independent investigative team revealed that the causes of the accident were entirely predictable, and the plant operator failed to meet crucial safety protocols, leading to the disastrous aftermath. As of now, the Fukushima nuclear incident stands as the most significant nuclear event since the discovery of atomic energy.
Contaminated groundwater continues to flow through a frozen soil barrier set up to shield the area from further fallout, and the environmental toll has been severe.
Although no direct fatalities have been reported since the disaster, it's projected that thousands may eventually die from cancer as a result of the radioactive contamination over the next 30 to 40 years. The area within a 20-kilometer (12 mi) exclusion zone is off-limits for the foreseeable future, unless you're looking to acquire extreme radiation sickness and, well, potentially face a fatal outcome.
2. Aral Sea
Once a vast lake situated between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea has now virtually disappeared, largely due to the effects of global climate change. As previously mentioned, Vozrozhdeniya Island, once an island in the sea, is no longer an island due to the dramatic decrease in water levels, leaving the area a barren wasteland.
The lake now covers only 10% of its original size, with much of the shrinkage happening over the past 30 years. This decline began in the 1960s when the Soviet Union rerouted several rivers that fed the sea, but the real culprit has been the rising global temperatures that have caused most of the water to evaporate.
The depletion of the Aral Sea has been deemed one of the world’s most catastrophic environmental crises. Once a bustling fishing hub that bolstered the economies of both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it is now a desolate wasteland.
The remnants of abandoned fishing boats now dot the desert, and the area is riddled with pollution, posing serious public health risks. Numerous towns have disappeared, and the eastern part of the Aral Sea is now called the Aralkum Desert.
1. Chernobyl Zone Of Alienation, Ukraine
In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant became the site of one of the most catastrophic nuclear disasters in history. A safety test conducted late at night, combined with the disabling of emergency safety systems, resulted in a preventable steam explosion and graphite fire. This triggered widespread radioactive fallout across much of the western USSR and parts of Europe.
The immediate fallout from the disaster led to the deaths of 31 people, with 28 of those victims being firefighters and plant workers who sacrificed their lives to extinguish the fires and prevent further radiation leakage.
Following the disaster, a 30-kilometer (19 mi) exclusion zone was established. Experts predict it will take at least 20,000 years before the area becomes safe for human habitation again.
Despite the significant risks, some Ukrainians have opted to stay within the exclusion zone. Workers tasked with constructing a protective sarcophagus around the remaining reactor are restricted to working only five hours a day for a month, after which they must take a 15-day break.
The location is open for visits, provided that all necessary safety measures are followed. However, it remains a perilous place, and any visit should only be undertaken if you're interested in exploring the history of the disaster (if that piques your curiosity).
