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The Internet provides a wealth of information resources related to the Chernobyl disaster and the trade-offs of nuclear power. We've collected some of the the best here. Please check back from time to time: we're always adding new resources.  Paul Fusco: Chernobyl Legacy
On April 26, 1986, at 1:23 a.m., the world’s worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
The explosion, described by the United Nations as “the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of humanity," released 200 times the radioactive fallout of the two nuclear weapons used at the end of World War II.
The radioactive plume traveled over large parts of the former Soviet Union (including Belarus, Ukraine and Russia), across Europe and reaching as far as Greenland and Asia exposing entire populations to levels up to 100 times the normal background radiation.
Magnum photographer Paul Fusco recounts the human aftermath of the tragedy. See the photos and here Paul Fusco at Media Storm...  "Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
[Booklist starred review] "Chernobyl is like the war of all wars. There's nowhere to hide." On April 26, 1986, the people of Belarus lost everything when a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station exploded. Many people died outright, and many were evacuated, forced to leave behind everything from pets to family photographs. Millions of acres remain contaminated, and thousands of people continue to be afflicted with diseases caused by radiation as 20 tons of nuclear fuel sit in a reactor shielded by a leaking sarcophagus known as the Cover. For three years, journalist Alexievich spoke with scores of survivors--the widow of a first responder, an on-the-scene cameraman, teachers, doctors, farmers, Party bureaucrats, a historian, scientists, evacuees, resettlers, grandmothers, mothers--and she now presents their shocking accounts of life in a poisoned world. And what quintessentially human stories these are, as each distinct voice expresses anger, fear, ignorance, stoicism, valor, compassion, and love. Alexievich put her own health at risk to gather these invaluable frontline testimonies, which she has transmuted into a haunting and essential work of literature that one can only hope documents a never-to-be-repeated catastrophe. Donna Seaman, American Library Association. Learn more and purchase the book at Amazon.com... Read the book online at Google Books...  Voices of Chernobyl: Survivors' Stories on NPR
"Twenty years ago this month, a routine maintenance test at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine veered wildly out of control. At 1:23 in the morning on April 26, 1986, there was a disastrous chain reaction in the core of reactor No.4. A power surge ruptured the uranium fuel rods, while a steam explosion created a huge fireball that blew the roof off the reactor. The resulting radioactive plume blanketed the nearby city of Pripyat. The cloud moved on to the north and west, contaminating land in neighboring Belarus, then moved across Eastern Europe and over Scandinavia. From the Soviets: utter silence. There was no word from the Kremlin that the worst nuclear accident in history was under way..." Read the full story and hear the podcast...  Chernobyl Vermont: Photographs from Within the Exclusion Zone
On April 22, 2006 Vermont photographer Paul Shadis had the dubious honor of participating on a site tour of the worst nuclear catastrophe of the Twentieth century; the exploded Chernobyl reactor in the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine. "I thought I was reasonably informed about this continuing radiological tragedy but came to understand I had no real concept of the overwhelming magnitude of this global crisis." Mr. Shadis had been invited to an event entitled, "Remembrance for the Future; Chornobyl +20", a conference of international delegates commemorating the 20th anniversary of the April 26, 1986 nuclear disaster. The week long symposium was held at Budynok Vchytelya (The House of Teachers), in the capital city of Kiev. Leaders in the fields of radiological research presented a series of lectures and subject-specific educational workshops. This group of renowned experts represented the numerous scientific, medical, industrial, and political disciplines involved in assessing and responding to the permanent emergency spawned by this nuclear travesty. Read more about Paul's visit and view the photographs... |
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