Chernobyl: 37 years since the worst nuclear accident in history

On April 26, 1986, one of the worst nuclear disasters in history occurred. The explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant led to the direct death of about thirty people and the indirect death of fifty people.

Also as a result of the tragedy, more than 6,000 children and adolescents were diagnosed with thyroid cancer, according to the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The destruction was so great that scientists ensured that the area around the old power plant would again not be habitable for another 20,000 years. Today marks 37 years since the disaster.

Exclusion Zone

A group of professionals work in the so-called “exclusion zone”, which had to be evacuated due to the excess levels of radioactivity that people can receive.

Works include road repairs and restoration of monuments. As far as safety is concerned, what keeps the core under control is a giant steel arch worth more than $1.8 billion from all the countries of the European Union that were also affected by the accident.

Children of Chernobyl.

One of the biggest unknowns surrounding this tragedy is whether the effects of nuclear radiation could have passed on to the descendants of those who lived in the city of Pripyat.

A genetic study sheds light on this topic for the first time, and the results have just been published in the journal The science.

The investigation was conducted by the US Cancer Institute and focused on the children of workers who were involved in cleaning up the contaminated area near the plant.

The descendants of those evacuated from Pripyat and other places within a radius of 70 kilometers around the reactor were also studied.

As a key finding, the study found no additional DNA damage in the children of those exposed to radiation before they were conceived.

“Even when people were exposed to relatively high doses of radiation compared to background radiation, it had no effect on their children,” the study notes.

In any case, the Chernobyl tragedy continues to spark controversy over nuclear power and the need to encourage cleaner methods of electricity generation; After 37 years, the severe effects of the explosion are still visible in the affected area.