iStockphoto / Oleksii Hlembotskyi
Thanks to the mini-series co-produced by HBO and the BBC, the nuclear reactor meltdown at Chernobyl received more news coverage this year than pretty much any year since the accident happened in the Soviet Union. If you haven’t watched it yet, that series was NUTS, and I’d highly suggest giving it a watch.
After Chernobyl hit TV the spike in interest was almost immediate. Dipshit Instagram influencers were trying to take selfies at the exclusion zone that’s home to some of the most radiation on the planet. Also, don’t panic, but it looks like the ‘giant sarcophagus’ that was built to contain the main source of radiation is going to cave in any day now.
Riding that wave of Chernobyl popularity, someone made vodka using grains and water from Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. Somehow, this bottle of ‘ATOMIK’ vodka is free of any radiation. Sadly, only one bottle exists so far but this could be the start of something interesting as it’s seemingly a first-step in repurposing the radiated land and water of Chernobyl into something useful.
Here’s the breakdown from Gizmodo:
A collaboration involving scientists from the UK and Ukraine has produced radioactive-free vodka from crops grown in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, according to a University of Portsmouth press release.
Described as “high quality artisan vodka,” the alcoholic beverage was brewed by the Chernobyl Spirit Company, and branded—appropriately enough—ATOMIK. Only one bottle of ATOMIK currently exists, and the product is not yet for sale, but it’s considered the first commercial product to come from the exclusion zone, the BBC reports. Jim Smith, a professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth, led the project. (via)
The Chernobyl Spirit Company has set up a website for their ATOMIK Vodka with a brief explanation about the science behind this unique spirit.
The hope is that this could revive a once-great industry in Ukraine.
Our group of Ukrainian and UK scientists has been studying the transfer of radioactivity to crops both in the main Exclusion Zone (CEZ) and in the Narodychi District within the Zone of Obligatory Resettlement, where land can’t officially be used for agriculture, but people still live.
The research shows that in many areas land could now be used to produce crops which are safe to eat. As every chemist knows, distillation of fermented grain leaves many heavier elements in the waste product so the distillate alcohol is more radioactively “pure” than the original grain. We have used distillation to reduce radioactivity in the grain even further to make a product from Chernobyl which we hope people will want to consume.
Again, it’s a complete bummer that they only have one bottle of this stuff and it’s not for sale yet because they’ve already picked up interest from millions after this went viral overnight.
If this vodka is safe as it purports to be this really could be an incredible way to make something out of this land that’s otherwise completely quarantined and shut off from the outside world.
It’s unclear what the future looks like for Chernobyl Spirits Company and their ATOMIK Vodka but I’m sure they’ll be releasing updates on their website after this release went viral and got picked up by pretty much every mainstream news outlet in the world overnight.