Table of ContentsView AllTable of Contents1986 Nuclear AccidentImmediate Health ConsequencesLong-Term Health ConsequencesWhat the Future Holds
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
1986 Nuclear Accident
Immediate Health Consequences
Long-Term Health Consequences
What the Future Holds
Yuri Kozyrev / Getty Images
Weather patterns played a role in how the radioactive particles dispersed. About 60% of it fell on Belarus. It affected parts of Russia and northwest Ukraine before drifting into Poland and other European nations. That led to heightened radiation doses.
When compared with the average dose of acomputed tomographyscan used in healthcare (9 millisievert, or mSv), the typical exposures were:
It would be decades before the full impacts of the release could be evaluated with more clarity. The surviving recovery workers, for example, are closely monitored because of their high cancer risk.
Two people died at the reactor when the accident occurred, and another 28 died from radiation sickness in the first three months.Nineteen additional workers died before 2005.A higher rate of leukemia cancers and genetic mutations (changes) were noted in workers who survived, though not other types of cancer.
Among those most exposed, studies also have confirmed a long-term higher risk of:
Those who were exposed to high radiation levels when they were younger than 5 years old are most likely to suffer from health consequences, includingstunted growth, poordental health,and immune disorders,as well as thyroid cancer risk.
The rate ofBRAF genetic mutationsand associated thyroid cancers in those exposed at a young age remains high.
Researchers think that may not be the case. An April 2021 study, published almost exactly 35 years after the accident, reported the completed gene sequencing on 130 children born between 1987 and 2002 and their parents, who were cleanup workers or exposed to radiation in the environment.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lumniczky K, Impens N, Armengol G, et al.Low dose ionizing radiation effects on the immune system.Environ Int. 2021;149:106212. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106212
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