Effects of the Chernobyl disaster

Estimated number of deaths from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
A map showing caesium-137 contamination in the Chornobyl area in 1996

The Chernobyl disaster of 26 April 1986 triggered the release of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere in the form of both particulate and gaseous radioisotopes. As of 2024, it remains the world's largest known release of radioactivity into the natural environment.[1]

The work of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) suggests that the Chernobyl disaster cannot be directly compared to atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons by simply saying that it is better or worse. This is partly because the isotopes released at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant tended to be longer-lived than those released by the detonation of atomic bombs.[2]

It is estimated that the Chernobyl disaster caused US$235 billion in economic damages.[3]

  1. ^ "1986-2016: CHERNOBYL at 30". www.who.int. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  2. ^ Moul, Russell (26 June 2023). "This Is Why You Can Live In Hiroshima And Nagasaki But Not Chernobyl". IFLScience. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Chernobyl disaster" (PDF). April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2020.