Buzz
Back in 2012, a YouTuber known as Bionerd23, who has a fascination with radioactivity, uploaded a video from the heart of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This area was evacuated due to the high risk of contamination following the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster. In her video, she uses a Geiger counter to measure radiation levels in a kindergarten located in the former village of Kopachi, capturing her exploration on camera.
Since her initial Chernobyl video, Bionerd23 has gained a notable following on YouTube. Her content, which often involves measuring radiation at various sites, attracts thousands of viewers. In 2014, she was featured in an episode of Discovery Channel’s YouTube series Outrageous Acts of Science (known as You Have Been Warned in certain regions). Her most popular Chernobyl video, which has over 442,000 views, shows her feeding bread to a massive catfish in a Chernobyl cooling pond. She explains that the fish’s size is due to an abundance of food from tourists and a lack of predators, not radiation-induced mutations.
Following an April interview with Atlas Obscura that labeled her videos as “strange” and “risky,” mental_floss reached out to Bionerd23 to learn more about her unique travel and science series. The goal was to uncover the story behind her work and assess the actual risks of activities like eating apples from the Exclusion Zone.
Bionerd23, who remains anonymous and does not disclose her age or precise location, is a physics student at a German university. Her interest in nuclear physics began before college, fueled by her innate skepticism. “I was always questioning things in school—whether it was physics or religion, I’d challenge my teachers to prove their claims,” she explained to mental_floss via email. Using tools like homemade Geiger counters, she says, “you can actually demonstrate the existence of atoms as described in nuclear physics—right in your own home.”
Her initial videos feature her experimenting with mercury, even holding it in her palm, and journeying to Saxony, Germany, to assess the radioactivity of deserted uranium mines. Her debut trip to Chernobyl was tied to a Dutch TV initiative that aimed to contrast radiation levels in Brazil with those in the Exclusion Zone. She shared some of her personal recordings from the expedition on YouTube, marking the start of her journey as an online documentarian of Chernobyl explorations.
“I aim to share videos that would spark my own excitement for physics if I were a teenager or an adult in a different profession,” she explains. She films most of the footage herself or passes the camera to companions, including tourists and scientists. Currently, she’s working with American videographer Lucas Brunelle, renowned for his cycling films and daring stunts.
Trailer - Lucas goes to Chernobyl 2 - featuring bionerd23 from Lucas Brunelle on Vimeo.
During her usual week-long stays in Chernobyl, Bionerd23 explores places like an old radio factory, a hospital, and the power plant itself. She has stumbled upon unusual items, such as a flask containing human prostate cancer cells, and has encountered wildlife like horses, moose, and wolves in the abandoned area, which has transformed into a de facto nature reserve since humans departed three decades ago. She refers to the Exclusion Zone as “a time capsule brimming with endless marvels.”
What sets Bionerd23’s videos apart from typical urban exploration content is her ability to uncover scientific insights in the ruins. “People struggle to grasp the exponential nature of radiation risk,” she notes. “They don’t realize how radiation levels 30 years ago were lethal to those near the reactor, yet are relatively safe today.” Her videos also contextualize Chernobyl’s radiation levels by comparing them to other sources. For example, when measuring radiation in Exclusion Zone apples, she contrasts it with the higher levels found in wild mushrooms from Germany.
Consuming apples from a tree near the Chernobyl plant might appear riskier than it actually is, says Ron Chesser, a biological sciences professor at Texas Tech University who specializes in radiation dispersion and nuclear accidents. “A day-long tour of the Chernobyl Zone, even if you eat a bushel of apples, exposes you to about half the radiation of a chest x-ray,” he explains to mental_floss via email.
However, prolonged residence in the Zone and consuming local produce can present genuine dangers, he adds. “Certain foods like mushrooms, boar, and some fish may have significantly higher radioactivity levels than apples,” he notes. “A consistent diet of Zone products and continuous exposure to certain areas could pose serious health risks over time for inhabitants.”
Despite being officially evacuated for 29 years, a handful of people still live in the Exclusion Zone, despite the potential hazards of long-term radiation exposure. Over a hundred individuals, primarily elderly women, have returned to reside in the contaminated communities near the plant. (Their story is captured in the recent film Babushkas of Chernobyl.)
The Babushkas of Chernobyl - Trailer from Holly Morris on Vimeo.
Bionerd23 emphasizes that her goal is to reveal the true nature of the Exclusion Zone today, dispelling the outdated myths surrounding it. “Every step I take there is thrilling,” she says.
Banner image screenshot via YouTube
