On April 25, 1986 in the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union, Dr. Valentin Belokon was just getting back to his office from tending to a person that had an asthma attack, when he saw two explosions at the nuclear power plant. When he was informed by his paramedical assistant that there had been an explosion that released massive amounts of radiation, he immediately sent two ambulances to the site, with him in pursuit. When Dr. Belokon arrived at the site, an eighteen-year-old man was brought to him with a very severe headache. The young man kept vomiting and he had nausea. Other people came to Dr. Belokon with similar symptoms, along with others like dryness and a blocked throat. Many of them were also beginning to act in a very strange manner. They would lose their ability to speak and would be confused and disoriented. All of these people were suffering from radiation sickness caused by their exposure radiation.1
Many of the people that had experienced the radiation first-hand were hospitalized and were being treated for radiation sickness.2 The numbers of those affected dramatically increased in the following months, as it was estimated that 600,000 people were exposed to the radiation. Victims were sent to different areas, due to the high number of people that needed to be examined and treated. Those that showed no sign of medical issues were sent home and asked to come back the following day for a follow-up examination. Patients that were sick, however, remained in the hospital and were seen by “the best scientific and medical specialists of the country, from specialized clinics in Moscow and other cities.”3 The patients stayed for months in the hospital, such as Dr. Belokon himself, who was discharged in the fall of 1986. Many of them were permanently damaged and affected by the radiation.4
The biggest problem that arose from the absorption of the radiation, apart from the radiation sickness, was that those who were exposed would pass on the health problems that the radiation caused to generations to come. The rates of cancer would surely rise in later years, especially thyroid cancer, as the thyroid would absorb much of the radiation.5 Other problems that would arise would be immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular diseases, and deformities in the children of those who were exposed to the high amounts of radiation. These health problems would arise due to the fact that the massive amounts of radiation absorbed ultimately changes the genetic structure of those that were affected and their offspring.6 The estimated number of deaths that would be caused from the indirect exposure of the radiation was set to approximately 4,000.7
Chernobyl was one of the biggest radiation disaster that has occurred in history. Thousands of people were affected by the biological and internal problems that the radiation caused. Many people are still being treated for cancers and other illnesses that can be traced back to the explosion. There were also many deaths that were caused throughout due to the nuclear power plant accident that occurred in the city of Chernobyl.
- Zhores A. Medvedev, The Legacy of Chernobyl (New York: W.W. Norton 1990), 132-133. ↵
- Zhores A. Medvedev, The Legacy of Chernobyl (New York: W.W. Norton 1990), 136. ↵
- Mikhail Gorbachev, “Vital speeches of the Day,” June 26,1986. ↵
- Zhores A. Medvedev, The Legacy of Chernobyl (New York: W.W. Norton 1990), 136. ↵
- Adriana Petryna, Life Exposed: Biological Citizens After Chernobyl ( New Jersey: Princeton University Press 2003), 1-2. ↵
- Aleksandra Fucic, “Follow up studies on genome damage in children after Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident,” Archives of Toxicology 9, no.9 (June 2016): 2147-2155. ↵
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “Chernobyl.” ↵
56 comments
Carlos Vazquez
I remember hearing about how the nuclear plant in Chernobyl had an accident in middle school and how the USSR did not tell anyone. It is incredible to think that the city will not be habitable for thousands of years. The number of people affected is by the accident and that are continued to be affected is innumerable. This article is really well written and informative.
Cristina Cabello
This is definitely one of histories most terrible moments. It is crazy how a train reaction occur. The radiation poisoning affected many people in the long term. The city was destroyed but know people know how to handle things. Everything happens for a reason. They happen so that people can learn from their mistakes. If they don’t happen they we probably wouldn’t have the knowledge that there is today.
Austin Pena
Interesting article. Ive always had a fascination with the Chernobyl incident as it was one that even to this day continues to have effects on the environment. I remember reading on the disaster and how it affected those in the surround towns and even countries due to the radiation spreading, but i was unaware of exactly what diseases/illnesses fell upon the people. Last Ive seen from a Vice video was that some people returned to the towns near the plant and continue to live a normal life, but the video did not describe if they are still facing issue due to the radiation.
Destiny Flores
This devastating event is just one example how our advances as a growing population can come back to hurt us. The fear that comes with the possibilities of something like this happening, and its repercussions, I think have driven sci-fi films to be made such as ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ in which a community is exposed to radiation and have turned to cannibalism.
Hector Garcia
This event was certainly one of the defining moment in the 20th century and its horrible to see that so many people were affected by radiation poisoning. We can certainly learn from this experience that radiation should be handled carefully. Something that I didn’t know would be that the thyroid absorbs most of the radiation, it is both interesting and fascinating.
Kailan Pena
I’ve known about Chernobyl and how devastating it was but I didn’t know exactly how severe the aftermath of such a horrific radiated disaster was. Generations of people being harmed by this meltdown is such a horrible thing to think about. It was very great to be informed of the severity of this tragic incident by this descriptive article as I find the subject to be very interesting.
Manuel Aguilera
I am honestly surprised that the effects of radiation exposure had more to do with the indirect consequences as compared to the direct ones. I was not aware that the children of the people surrounding the explosion were harmed because of the radiation. Although, if I am not mistaken, the area surrounding Chernobyl has become a hot spot for wildlife and places like Pripyat are now considered overtaken by wild animals.
Ezequiel De La Fuente
Truly horrible what happened to the people of Chernobyl and how it effects their late family lines and their genetic make-up to this day. The effects of radiation on people are so sad. Reading this article makes me want to know more about what happened and what caused the radiation explosion in the first place. Great article overall and straight to the point!
Brianda Gomez
I really enjoyed reading this article and learning about the effects that a nuclear weapon had on people. For example, the case where many people had experienced radiation and had become very sick with nausea, confusion, and were disoriented. These sicknesses would even transfer from generation to generations. One of the most well known and tragic would have to be the “Chernobyl”, that affected many people and even caused them to be diagnosed with cancer. These were just some of the tragic outcomes that such a powerful weapon has on humans.
Osman Rodriguez
Very interesting article. I have definitely heard of Chernobyl before, and this article gave me a little more insight on the matter. When it come nuclear related stories, I am always interested, especially since this article with health issues. It is crazy to see how radiation is able to modify our genes which cause these health problems. This is also true with significant amounts of radiation exposure due to x-ray’s. This usually why you could see warning signs near x-ray rooms.