After three days of virtual news blackout, the Soviet authorities finally admitted last night what Scandinavia had already deduced from radioactive fallout - that the Chernobyl nuclear accident is a "disaster", that some people have been killed and many thousands more evacuated.
April 28, 1986: Soviet Union admits nuclear accident at Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine two days prior.
On May 14th, 1986, Gorbachev addressed Chernobyl for the first time on Soviet television; he described the reports of international news as 'malicious lies' and a 'highly immoral campaign' due to their exposure of the scope of the disaster, rather than holding the government accountable for the damage.
The Soviet Union claimed they paid £882million in compensation – £2.5billion in today's money – to 116,000 people evacuated from the Chernobyl area in Ukraine. However, 65 percent of this – £574million or £1.6billion in today's money – was not paid for by the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union has asked the West for help in putting out the fire at the plant. Diplomatic sources said the Soviet embassy in Stockholm had approached Sweden's nuclear inspection authority for advice on handling a burning graphite reactor core.
Since the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident on 26 April 1986, the United Nations, along with the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, has been leading the recovery and development efforts to support the affected regions.
And the atmosphere was radioactive,” remembered Abegian. But according to government regulations adopted in the Soviet Union back in 1963, evacuation of the civilian population was not necessary unless the radiation dose accumulated by individuals reached the 75-roentgen mark.
The Chernobyl disaster had other fallout: The economic and political toll hastened the end of the USSR and fueled a global anti-nuclear movement. The disaster has been estimated to cost some $235 billion in damages.
The following countries have made donations: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Korea, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic , Slovenia and Turkey.
The loss of the four reactors amounts to perhaps $4 billion in capital costs. It is possible, however, that in time reactors 1 and 2 could be returned to service, depending on the levels of radiation in the immediate area and estimates of cleanup costs relative to new construction.
“Chernobyl made me and my colleagues rethink a great many things,” Gorbachev told the Politburo on July 3, 1986, according to Russian Historian Vladislav M. Zubok. He wrote, “The accident, its global discussion, and disastrous fallout across huge Soviet areas shattered the Soviet militarized mentality to the core…
Official list of direct deaths. The 31 persons listed in the table below are those whose deaths the Soviet Union included in its official roster—released in the latter half of 1986—of casualties directly attributable to the disaster. ARS; burns on 100% of body, estimated 15 grays (1,500 rad) dose.
1. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Japan is one of the world's most radioactive places. Fukushima is still highly radioactive today.
How long can you stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? There are two exclusion zones in Chernobyl; a 10km inner and 30km outer Exclusion Zone. It is safe to stay in the outer Exclusion Zone overnight.
UNSCEAR acknowledges that thyroid cancer after the Chernobyl accident is a major issue and that further investigation is needed to determine the long-term consequences.
By most estimates, such a blast may have wiped out half of Europe, leaving it riskier to live in for 500,000 years.
However, the releases affected large areas of Europe to some degree. Over 200 000 km2, of which 71% are in the three most affected countries (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine) were contaminated with caesium-137, which has a 30-year half-life.
In Russia, that category included 50,000 people, and in Belarus, the republic that suffered the most from the Chernobyl fallout, 9000 individuals were similarly categorized. Ukraine also recognized almost 500,000 individuals, Russia 200,000, and Belarus >100,000.
Reports from Soviet and Western scientists indicate that Belarus received about 60% of the contamination that fell on the former Soviet Union.
According to the official, internationally recognised death toll, just 31 people died as an immediate result of Chernobyl while the UN estimates that only 50 deaths can be directly attributed to the disaster. In 2005, it predicted a further 4,000 might eventually die as a result of the radiation exposure.
Before the disaster, Chernobyl was home to about 14,000 people. Although humans are not supposed to live there, some survivors remain in nearby villages. There are no children because they are more susceptible to the effects of radiation, and would most likely suffer long-term effects.
There are no bodies left at Chernobyl. According to official reports, approximately 31 people died as a result of the explosion and consequent fire and meltdown. All these people's bodies were recovered. However, the true number of fatalities is thought to be higher.
One of the last few remaining residents of a derelict estate dubbed 'Britain's Chernobyl” says he won't leave despite it being earmarked for demolition. Marshal Craig, 70, still lives in Clune Park, which has been virtually empty for years and looks like something from a post-apocalyptic film.
Known as Samosely ("self-settlers"), they are often referred to affectionately as Babushkas or Babas, the respective Russian and Ukrainian words for "grandmothers." As they steadfastly refused to leave, the government eventually allowed the women to remain within the exclusion zone "semi-illegally," as long as they ...
If the three courageous men were not successful in their mission the Chernobyl death toll was likely to reach the millions. Nuclear physicist Vassili Nesterenko declared that the blast would have had a force of 3-5 megatons leaving much of Europe uninhabitable for hundreds of thousands of years.