The State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management allows for the settlement of the southern part of the Chernobyl zone in not less than 20 years, the acting chairman of the Agency Dmytro Bobro said.
"If the program on rehabilitation of the territory will be implemented, then the population may be returned to 200-300 square km in south of the Chernobyl zone," he said.
According to Bobro, this period is explained by the completion of the half-life of some radioactive substances.
At the same time, in his opinion, half of the total area will be never settled.
Acting head also noted that at present, 100-200 square meters are suitable for economic activity, but people cannot live there.
In addition, he stressed that, despite the change of radiation situation, today the return of people for permanent residence in the Chernobyl zone is not planned due to the existing standards of radiation.
Under the law, this standard for population is 1 mSv per year, and if people live in the exclusion zone, they will get exposure of more than 5 mSv per year.
He said that there are diverse and often opposing points of view on this issue among the experts, but the decision will be taken considering the effective regulations.
