Life goes on at Chernobyl 35 years after the world’s worst nuclear accident Although there were mass evacuations following the radioactive catastrophe, Chernobyl never fully emptied of people. Radioactive particles can be sandblasted from the surface of metal to decontaminate it and prepare it for resale. The money is good but the risks are high as radioactive dust constantly swirls through the workshop. ByJennifer Kingsley Email Every April 25, as night deepens, people gather around an angel that stands atop a stone plinth in the northern Ukrainian town of Chernobyl. The angel’s entire body is made of steel—mostly rebar that makes a stark silhouette against the sky—and it holds a long trumpet to its lips. This sculpture represents the third angel from the Book of Revelation. According to the Bible, when that trumpet sounded, a great star fell from heaven, the waters became bitter, and many died.