Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986 in a town just north of Kiev, Ukraine, lies the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and on this unfortunate day one of the nuclear reactors failed, causing numerous deaths and many more problems to the areas surrounding this nuclear plant. In this paper the history of Chernobyl will be examined and how it happened, along with the health effects related to radiation exposure, environmental effects, and what its’s like at Chernobyl today. Chernobyl had a total of four nuclear reactors. The first two were built between 1970 and 1977, and the third and fourth ones being built by 1983, and two more reactors were being built at the time of the disaster. It was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the world …show more content…
Exposure to the amounts of radiation at Chernobyl caused severe burns, radiation poisoning and even death. Another big concern is cancer, particularly Thyroid cancer in children. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, somewhere around 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been determined to directly relate to the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl (Grisham, 2013). The study led by Dr. James Fagin and Christopher Mason, looked at children who were around the age of 10 at the time of the disaster. Rates of thyroid cancer were elevated compared to what it was likely to have been, had the disaster not taken place. The thyroid gland, especially in children, traps iodine, one of the radioactive isotopes released into the environment after Chernobyl. The study found the tumors taken from these patients had fusion-oncogenes, which means DNA breaks apart and comes back together. This is a typical observance with radiation caused cancers (Grisham, …show more content…
The fallout has decreased enough that short tours are offered of the lesser affected areas. Tours are offered daily from as low as $89, to expensive as $1,070. At maximum, the tour lasts roughly 12 hours (8am-8pm). You must wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt, and you must wear boots or sneakers that fully cover your feet. Before you leave you also have to sign a waiver, basically saying you cannot seek legal action if your health deteriorates (Chernobyl-tour.com, 2015). Chernobyl has also been used in pop-culture in recent years. The movie Chernobyl Diaries (2012) is about a group of tourists visiting the town of Pripyat, they soon realize they aren’t alone on this routine tour. Chernobyl was also featured in the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The very last level is an intense fight as hordes of enemies’ attack you as you bunker down near the iconic Ferris
On April 26, 1986 in a town just north of Kiev, Ukraine, lies the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and on this unfortunate day one of the nuclear reactors failed, causing numerous deaths and many more problems to the areas surrounding this nuclear plant. In this paper the history of Chernobyl will be examined and how it happened, along with the health effects related to radiation exposure, environmental effects, and what its’s like at Chernobyl today. Chernobyl had a total of four nuclear reactors. The first two were built between 1970 and 1977, and the third and fourth ones being built by 1983, and two more reactors were being built at the time of the disaster. It was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the world …show more content…
Exposure to the amounts of radiation at Chernobyl caused severe burns, radiation poisoning and even death. Another big concern is cancer, particularly Thyroid cancer in children. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, somewhere around 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been determined to directly relate to the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl (Grisham, 2013). The study led by Dr. James Fagin and Christopher Mason, looked at children who were around the age of 10 at the time of the disaster. Rates of thyroid cancer were elevated compared to what it was likely to have been, had the disaster not taken place. The thyroid gland, especially in children, traps iodine, one of the radioactive isotopes released into the environment after Chernobyl. The study found the tumors taken from these patients had fusion-oncogenes, which means DNA breaks apart and comes back together. This is a typical observance with radiation caused cancers (Grisham, …show more content…
The fallout has decreased enough that short tours are offered of the lesser affected areas. Tours are offered daily from as low as $89, to expensive as $1,070. At maximum, the tour lasts roughly 12 hours (8am-8pm). You must wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt, and you must wear boots or sneakers that fully cover your feet. Before you leave you also have to sign a waiver, basically saying you cannot seek legal action if your health deteriorates (Chernobyl-tour.com, 2015). Chernobyl has also been used in pop-culture in recent years. The movie Chernobyl Diaries (2012) is about a group of tourists visiting the town of Pripyat, they soon realize they aren’t alone on this routine tour. Chernobyl was also featured in the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The very last level is an intense fight as hordes of enemies’ attack you as you bunker down near the iconic Ferris