Chernobyl Disaster Effects

The Chernobyl accident triggered the release of substantial amounts of radiation into the atmosphere in the form of both particle and gaseous radioisotopes, and is the most significant unintentional release of radiation into the environment to date. The effects of the release of radioisotopes by the Chernobyl accident are the subject of substantial study, and will the full effect of the radiation will not be understood for some time. (Vember: 3-12.)

The workers involved in the recovery and cleanup after the accident received high doses of radiation. In most cases, these workers were not equipped with individual dosimeters to measure ...