April 26, 2004
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18 YEARS AGO TODAY
Apr 26 1986
44 seconds into a late-night experiment at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, reactor number four sustains two large explosions. A plume of dangerous radioactivity looms three kilometers high, making it the worst catastrophe in the history of nuclear power. The Soviet news agency TASS holds off reporting the incident for almost 48 hours.
Exposure to massive amounts of radiation killed 32 people initially. The Ukrainian government now says hundreds of thousands of people suffer from sickness related to the disaster. In the years following the accident , 210,000 people were resettled into less contaminated areas.
Most of the radiation fell onto Belarus. Ten years later, children are still being born with stumps for limbs and no eyes. More than 600,000 people involved with the cleanup are now dead or dying.
Reactor #4 is now sealed underneath a giant concrete bunker, however this is a temporary plan at best. The shield is already in need of expensive maintenance and is not considered to be a permanent solution.
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