The Effects of The Chernobyl Disaster

Abstract

The Chernobyl disaster has become one of the most divisive and controversial topics in Ukrainian society. Although it took place in April 1986, only one year after Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the cpsu Central Committee, its effects have been far-reaching. The first medical results of the accident began to manifest themselves in 1989. At the same time, commencing in 1987, republican citizens have questioned the official interpretations of Chernobyl. They have asked whether the true story about the aftereffects of the tragedy has yet to be told. In particular, many of the statements provided by the USSR and Ukrainian Ministries of Health Protection have been subjected to close scrutiny; as have those of the chief agency engaged in monitoring the victims of high radiation background, the Center for Radiation Medicine, affiliated with the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and based in Kiev.