There was also no real incentive to clean up the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The town of Pripyat existed for the purpose of supporting the nuclear power plants. S

There was also no real incentive to clean up the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The town of Pripyat existed for the purpose of supporting the nuclear power plants. So when the plants closed, there's no reason to clean up the contamination. This is in contrast to Fukushima, in which the majority of the exclusion zone has been rehabilitated.