Chernobyl 2 Essay, Research Paper
The Chernobyl disaster began in the early morning hours of
April 25, 1986 when a shift operating the nuclear reactor
exploded showering radioactive debris from the power
nuclear plant in the northern Ukraine over most of eastern
Europe. This radioactivity was hundreds of times more
powerful than the atomic bombings at Nagasaki and
Hiroshima. The explosion left the surrounding area looking
like a ghost town. People rushed to get themselves and their
families to safety. It left in its aftermath an estimated
32,000 dead.
Chernobyl left something else besides it s radioactivity,
many illnesses that will plague the people of this area
forever. Scientist have dubbed one syndrome the Chernobyl
AIDS . It has been estimated to have effected some 30,000
in the area. The syndrome, which is said to decrease the
number of natural killer cells in the blood, can cause an
increase in the chance of getting leukemia and malignan
tumors as well as severe forms of cardiac conditions and
pneumonia. The people of the Ukraine have also seen a sharp
increase in the number of cases of thyroid cancer. The
number has grown from 5 cases a year to an outstanding 43
cases since the accident at Chernobyl. Many of the male
workers at Chernobyl have been found to have sexual and
reproductive disorders and the number of complicated
pregnancies among women continues to grow.
Not only did Chernobyl leave behind many illness, but
also a huge financial burden on a country already diseased by
poverty. This is cited as an accident but is really much more.
The clean up to this disaster will take another estimated 30
years and many of the long term effects will not be known
until it is too late to stop them. The Chernobyl disaster is
one that could have and should have been prevented.
Instead of cutting cost we should do it right the first time to
make sure nothing like this happens again.