World

30 years later, Chernobyl’s searing legacy still crippling and killing

At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, an explosion destroyed reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl’s Vladimir Illyich Lenin Nuclear Power Station in the former Soviet Union. Thirty years later, 5 million people still live on heavily contaminated lands in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and hundreds of thousands of people are sick or suffering in different ways.

The true impact from Chernobyl may not be known for decades to come.

The blast immediately killed one person. A second died in the hospital after succumbing to injuries. While the reactor burned for two weeks, discharging the largest-ever uncontrolled amount of radioactive material into the environment, the radiation that spewed from the plant reached 42% of Europe’s territory and prompted the deployment of an army of 800,000 emergency workers.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, an explosion destroyed reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl’s Vladimir Illyich Lenin Nuclear Power Station in the former Soviet Union. Thirty years later, 5 million people still live on heavily contaminated lands in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and hundreds of thousands of people are sick or suffering in different ways.

The true impact from Chernobyl may not be known for decades to come.

The blast immediately killed one person. A second died in the hospital after succumbing to injuries. While the reactor burned for two weeks, discharging the largest-ever uncontrolled amount of radioactive material into the environment, the radiation that spewed from the plant reached 42% of Europe’s territory and prompted the deployment of an army of 800,000 emergency workers.

Read more at USA Today

Image courtesy of advexon.com

About SOFREP News Team View All Posts

The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In