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The actual impact of Chernobly is hard to determine. 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. Of these deaths, official reports state that only two people were killed during the initial explosion, however other sources suggest that the figure is closer to fifty.
Information that surrounds the Chernobyl disaster is contradictory, especially because establishing a link between radiation exposure and long-term health effects is difficult. Some the following data is noteworthy though it cannot be definitively confirmed:
Somewhere between 600,000 and 820,000 people participated in the clean up crew in the aftermath of the disaster. These people are known as “liquidators.” Of these, the Russian Academy of Sciences indicates that 112,000 and 125,000 liquidators – around 15% – had died by 2005. (These reports have been disputed elsewhere.)
Some of those living closest to the power plant received internal radiation doses in their thyroid glands that were up to 37,000 times the dose of a chest x-ray.
The National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine (NRCRM) estimates around five million citizens of the former USSR have suffered as a result of Chernobyl.
Within the impacted population, there has been a rapid increase in disabilities
Mortality rates in radiation contaminated areas have been growing progressively higher than the rest of the Ukraine. In 2007, for example, 10 more people out of every 1000 died compared to the general population.
One recent study found increased instability and damage in the genomes of children exposed during the disaster or born to parents who were exposed.
Increased risk of thyroid cancer has been one of the most important adverse health effects observed after the accident.
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