[matthewmcg]

I don’t know about Chernobyl specifically, but so-called low background steel from before 1945 is harvested specifically for use in radiation sensing applications. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel

I think most of the radionuclide contamination comes from Cold War atmospheric nuclear testing.

Some low background steel is recovered from sunken battleships!

[arethuza]

On a related note - the day the German fleet (which went on to be scuttled at Scapa Flow and to become a source of that low-background steel) must have been quite an incredible sight - possibly one of the largest collection of warships ever (40 battleships, there were only 7 at the Normandy Landings):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30128199

[overfl0w]

Yes, this is it, thank you for providing the source, it was an interesting read.