More than 33 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, recovery of the affected areas in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia is ongoing. Whilst some relatively small highly radioactive "hotspots" remain in the 30 km Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), the scientific community has long believed that radiation risks to the affected populations outside the CEZ are very low. But the recovery of these regions has been slow, hampered both by restrictions on investment and use of agricultural land and by a mis-perception of the radiation risks.

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Our founders, Gennady Laptev and Jim Smith, have studied Chernobyl for decades. We, like many other scientists, believe that what the affected regions need most to improve their wellbeing is jobs, economic development and healthcare. The Chernobyl Spirit Company is trying - on a small scale - to help by beginning to invest in the affected regions and to use 75% of profits to support these regions and the new Chernobyl Biosphere Reserve in the CEZ.