The true fallout from Chernobyl

摘要

Twenty years on, UN scientists are at last beginning to understand the aftermath of the world's worst-ever nuclear accident, at Chernobyl in Ukraine. After-effects of the huge cloud of radiation that leaked from the broken reactor will eventually kill 4000 people, they say. Radiation has contaminated more than 200,000 square kilometres of land. And it has triggered widespread mental health problems among the people of the worst-hit countries. These are the conclusions of the most authoritative study to date of the effects of the explosions that ripped apart Chernobyl reactor number 4 on 26 April 1986. It was compiled by the Chernobyl Forum, which involves more than 100 scientists, eight UN agencies and the governments of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.