Human Health Affected

Chernobyl affected the health of many people throughout Russia. Altogether the total number of fatalities stands at 31 officially. Around 600,000 were classified as "significantly exposed" and will have their health monitored all their lives. Twenty-four people were disabled by the accident, some so severely they were left as invalids for the rest of their lives. Two hundred thirty-eight people have suffered acute radiation sundrome. Around 10,000 people performed sundroms of radiation sickness.

 ... is caused by iodine-131, which comprised 10 to 15 percent of Chernobyl's fallout. Today, the rate of thyroid cancer is ten times than that any scientist anticipated after the meltdown. The UN estimates thyroid cancer among children at 285 times the pre-Chernobyl number

Strontium, being chemically similar to calcium, tends to attach itself to bones. There it remains, radiating into the marrow that produces the white blood cells that fend off disease. Under the constant bombardment of radiation, the marrow ceases to function the way it should

 Radiation damages DNA in reproductive cells. The damages to human and animal fetuses is severe enough to cause spontaneous abortion. Those born live often suffer brain damage, Down's syndrome, and other abnormalities

An acute immune deficiency syndrome that is not related to HIV and is not contagious. Radioactive isotopes - stroncium, plutonium, iodine, caesium - spread throughout the body and remain acitve for the life-time of an individual. Their radiation attacks the lymphocyte system that fights off infections

 Cesium-137 is a gamma emitter with a half-life of 30 years. It remains in the soil, to concentrate in the food chain, for 300 years. In the body, it can irradiate muscle cells and organs for decades