So Sad .. (Another Article - A Nice Change!)

[Miss Z]

May I ask what Chernobyl is? I've honestly never heard of it, but the presentation has me in tears .

Chernobyl was a nuclear explosion when scientists in the Ukraine were testing reactor 4. Radiation spread practically all over Europe and many people died, and children are still being born with physical deformities because of the disaster. It's really moving when you hear about all these poor families. For more information you can see this site

The radiation even came to my part of the world, in the Lake District the ground is full of radiation from Chernobyl

[DJFyrewolf36]

Whats disgusting is that people are downplaying the effects of the radiation. I've read a lot of things that said that even as soon as 5 years after the accident, the radiation wouldn't affect peoples health. Some are convinced the problems today are purely psychological or self inflicted (by alchol and such)

Radiation is dangerous, and there are a lot of things we STILL do not know about it. I think more research should be done.

[Lady's Human]

Chernobyl was caused by bad engineering and lack of communication between workers. Engineers were testing the reactor safety systems while another group of workers were doing another test. Several things happened to the reactor at once which caused a cloud of hydrogen gas, and the cloud exploded. This explosion breached the containment building and showered the area with radioactive material. The Soviet Union said nothing to the outside world at this point.

The material went up into the atmosphere, and eventually triggered radiation alarms in Scandanavia. The governments in the area questioned the Soviet Union, which is when news of the accident was released publicly. My question is and has always been how many accidents occurred in the former Soviet Union which we know nothing about. There are vast tracts of land in the heart of the former USSR which are uninhabitable because of the careless drive of the USSR to compete with the west at any cost. (China should take note. Dust storms are NOT normal in Beijing)

The reactors used in the west are not the same type as the reactors at Chernobyl. There used to be active carbon pile reactors in the US, but they have been shut down since the 1960's. It would be impossible for a western reactor to have the same type of accident due to the completely different design. Western safety systems even in the primitive carbon piles would have prevented a Chernobyl type accident.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I wrote a poem on it.. Don't know how well it describes it, but it inspired me.

The sun disappears away
While the children play
The steam comes up from the boiling ground
30 lives diminished
While the rest didn't stay
The day dwelled on
Until, there was none.
So many people still suffer
20 years from that day
The deformities, the abnormalities, the pain
They suffer through it all
with a strong-willed heart
Until they can last no more.
The sorrow that they went through
still lives on to this day,
When they all remember
that one tragic day, that changed the world for all.