21 years ago today, the worst nuclear disaster in history took place at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in what is now Pripyat, Ukraine (65 miles north of Kyiv, near the Ukraine/Belarus border). Thiry-two died as an immediate result of the event. Additionally, “an estimated 5,000 Soviet citizens eventually died from cancer and other radiation-induced illnesses caused by their exposure to the Chernobyl radiation, and millions more had their health adversely affected.”
It is estimated that 60% of the fallout landed in Belarus due to the direction of the wind. The radiation “was several times that produced by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
To read more and learn about the details of what actually happened to cause this disaster, you can visit:
- http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6879
- http://www.infoukes.com/history/chornobyl/
Special thanks to Eric for reminding us of this important date in Ukrainian history…
1 comment:
It was nice having lunch with you today Zack. And finding out you received all the papers now and will be on there way soon. Our prayers will be with you always.
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