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Nuclear tourism

Photo: Alex Kühni, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Nuclear tourism is travel to places connected with nuclear history, nuclear science, and nuclear technology. This can include historical sites of nuclear detonations or places related to peaceful or wartime use of nuclear energy.

Sites of interest to the nuclear tourist may include:

  • Sites of nuclear detonations (bombed cities, nuclear weapons tests, sites related to peaceful uses of nuclear explosives).
  • Sites of nuclear accidents and accidents of aircraft carrying nuclear weapons.
  • Museums of nuclear history, nuclear science, or nuclear technology.
  • Former nuclear missile silos and nuclear fallout shelters.
  • Other sites relating to nuclear history, nuclear science, and nuclear technology (for example, nuclear particle accelerators and sites of nuclear physics research).
Get readyI know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Sites of nuclear explosionsSee Pacific War for the events leading up to the bombings.
Sites of nuclear accidentsSome might find it unethical or at least controversial for tourists to visit sites where many people suffered following an accident, especially if local guides are repeatedly exposed to radiation when leading tour…
Nuclear reactorsSome commercial power plants offer tours, often for PR reasons. They are often interesting, but they may give a partisan view of the industry and its issues.
Nuclear warfareWe knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed... A few people cried... Most people were silent.
OtherNuclear waste is a big headache in all nuclear applications as it remains dangerous for timespans humans cannot generally oversee.
Stay safeOne obvious concern in touring nuclear sites is radiation. In fact, good news is that most of the sites listed above are safe from this point of view.
See also

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