Radiation's Complications: Pinning Health Problems on a Nuclear Disaster Isn't So Easy
KIEV, Ukraine--In 1986 the worst nuclear accident in history took place when reactor No. 4 in the power plant at nearby Chernobyl exploded, spewing large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Now, almost 25 years later, the lesson that scientists are learning is that radiation might not be the only cause of this disaster's long-term medical effects, and perhaps not even the main one.The explosion immediately killed two workers, and 28 firemen and nuclear power plant staff died from acute radiation syndrome in the three months afterward. The disaster also released a plume of radioactive fallout that contaminated more than 200,000 square kilometers of Europe, roughly three quarters of which lies in the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Hints of fallout were also detected elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching Japan in six days and the U.S. in 10, but in most cases only negligible amounts were...