The mechanism of the relation between the radiation exposure and the onset of disease is unknown, although similar evidence has been collected from other incidents of exposure (like as seen in survivors of nuclear bomb attacks), helping to validate this conclusion (Cardis & Hatch, 2011).Īnother such disease is cataracts. Meta-analysis has revealed evidence of increased cardiovascular diseases in workers who were in and around the power plant during the catastrophe and in liquidators (clean-up workers called upon to deal with the aftermath). When one thinks of diseases caused by radioactive mutagenesis, the first that comes to mind is likely some form of cancer. Studies regarding the mutagenic effects of the fallout on humans have explored various topics, including the non-cancerous effects of exposure, its effects on thyroid cancer, and whether the mutations are transmitted to children of those who are affected. Many studies have been done of the effects of the radioactive material (which emits ionizing radiation, capable of removing electrons from atoms and thus forming reactive cations in proteins and genetic material) expelled from the plant on the surrounding areas. This fallout blanketed the surrounding area, causing the authorities to eventually declare the area thirty kilometers in radius around the reactor an uninhabitable zone (Nuclear Energy Agency & Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development, 2002). While this did cause the chain reaction to cease, it exposed the core to the air, causing the graphite attached to it to catch fire and thus spread radioactive particles into the air as ash. This caused the thermal energy output of the reactor to reach around ten times its regular levels, causing an explosion due to the pressure of all the hot steam produced. In April 1986, the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl in the former USSR (and present-day Ukraine) experienced an uncontrolled chain reaction in Reactor Four as a result of a delay and subsequent loss of power during a routine safety test (International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group, 1992). About Chernobyl.Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Emailįrankie Carr, Biological Sciences, Spring 2021įigure 1: A monument (front left) to the meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant that occurred in Reactor Number Four (back right) (source: Wikimedia Commons () doi:10.1126/science.abg2538Ĭhernobyl Children International. Radiation-related genomic profile of papillary thyroid carcinoma after the Chernobyl accident. Clinicopathological implications of the BRAFV600 E mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma of Ukrainian patients exposed to the Chernobyl radiation in childhood: a study for 30 years after the accident. Zurnadzhy L, Bogdanova T, Rogounovitch TI, et al. Low dose ionizing radiation effects on the immune system. Lumniczky K, Impens N, Armengol G, et al. A systematic review of the caries prevalence among children living in Chernobyl fallout countries. ![]() Wolgin M, Filina N, Shakavets N, Dvornyk V, Lynch E, Kielbassa AM. ![]() ![]() Mental health and neuropsychiatric aftermath 35 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe: current state and future perspectives. Reproductive effects of exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation: a long-term follow-up of immigrant women exposed to the Chernobyl accident. Genomic characterization of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in radiation-exposed Chornobyl cleanup workers. Backgrounder on Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Radiation exposure to the thyroid after the Chernobyl accident. ![]() Chernobyl accident and its consequences.ĭrozdovitch V. Assessment of the radiation effects from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Health effects of the Chernobyl accident.
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