History Written

Who is to blame? Then and Now?

The explosion that destroyed Number Four Reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, was the biggest accident in history. Hundreds of tons of fuel, concrete, steel, and other debris were blown into the night sky and rained down over the surrounding area. Even more deadly were the several tons of radiation that rose into the atmosphere, creating a nuclear wind that swept across the Soviet Union, covering the country in a blanket of deadly, invisible poison.

The Soviet government told people that the accident was a minor one, and that there was nothing to worry about. They sent teams of unprotected workers to clean up the mess. While some of the areas close to the plant were evacuated, no one believed that there was any danger. People in surrounding areas were not even informed of the explosion.

But then people began to die. The explosion along with radiation killed 31 people almost immediately. Within the next few years, the Soviet government admitted the deaths of 224 others. The actual toll, however, is probably several thousand. In the next few years, the number may reach tens of thousands. Lingering radiation is causing uncountable thousands of people to suffer an immune deficiency syndrome and mysterious new forms of disease. Among a population of millions, it contributes to a death rate that now exceeds the birth rate.

Pictures courtesy of Greenpeace, Dec. 1995