LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Chernobyl: Chernobyl Accident
built 281 days ago
The Chernobyl tragedy is the largest peacetime radiation catastrophe that has ever occurred on this planet. Considered to be the worst manmade nuclear disaster in world history, the human dimensions of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion are vast and heartbreaking. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is a global environmental event which has left thousands of refugees and long term contamination of the land, water and air.
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The initial response to the Chernobyl accident was the heroism, communitarian behavior, and sacrifice characteristic of many disasters. Now that some years have gone by the pendulum is swinging, and one hears recriminations and accusations. These are tied to the national political and economic situation, as well as shortcomings of the PRIA and other responsible groups. In Ukraine and elsewhere in the former USSR, there is a strong local desire to find people to blame for everything that is wrong, and it is best to blame people from Moscow.
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The Chernobyl accident caused many severe radiation effects almost immediately. Among the approximately 600 workers present on the site at the time of the accident, 2 died within hours of the reactor explosion and 134 received high radiation doses and suffered from acute radiation sickness. Of these, twenty eight workers died in the first four months after the accident. Another 200,000 recovery workers involved in the initial cleanup work of 1986-1987 received doses of between 0.01 and 0.50 Gy. The number of workers involved in cleanup activities at Chernobyl rose to 600,000, although only a small fraction of these workers were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Both groups of cleanup and recovery workers may become ill because of their radiation exposure, so their health is being monitored.
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The Chernobyl accident caused many severe radiation effects almost immediately. Of 600 workers present on the site during the early morning of 26 April 1986, 134 received high doses (0.7-13.4 Gy) and suffered from radiation sickness. Of these, 28 died in the first three months and another 19 died in 1987-2004 of various causes not necessarily associated with radiation exposure. In addition, according to the UNSCEAR 2000 Report, during 1986 and 1987 about 450,000 recovery operation workers received doses of between 0.01 Gy and 1 Gy. That cohort is at potential risk of late consequences such as cancer and other diseases and their health will be followed closely.
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Contamination from the Chernobyl accident was not evenly spread across the surrounding countryside, but scattered irregularly depending on weather conditions. Reports from Soviet and Western scientists indicate that Belarus received about 60% of the contamination that fell on the former Soviet Union. However, the 2006 TORCH report stated that half of the volatile particles had landed outside Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. A large area in Russia south of Bryansk was ... contaminated, as were parts of northwestern Ukraine.
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Though hardly ranking as one of the greatest industrial accidents of all time, the impact of Chernobyl disaster was wildly exaggerated. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belorussians were forced to abandon entire cities and settlements within the thirty-kilometer zone of extreme contamination. Billions of rubles have been spent to relocate communities and decontaminate the rich farmland.
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Chernobyl Accident