Introduction. Details of the Event
- The event is Chernobyl disaster.
- Flawed reactor design caused it (Westmore, 2020).
- It resulted in discharge of radioactive particles.
- Mistakes made during testing.
- Mostly affected regions include Europe and western USSR.
- Deaths and health issues were witnessed.
Radiation Exposure Effects
- Radiation exposure increased cancer risks.
- Radionuclides released were around 50 to 185 million curies (Omar-Nazir et al., 2018).
- Ionizing radiation energy affected DNA chemical bonds.
- Long-term adverse health effects experienced.
- Chernobyl disaster caused many deaths (Omar-Nazir et al., 2018).
- Evacuation of humans.
- Workers deaths (Toki et al., 2020).
- High anxiety levels.
- Poor health.
- Unexplained physical symptoms.
- Tumor development and other health issues.
- Adolescents and young children suffered thyroid cancer (Toki et al., 2020).
- Leukemia risks increased.
- Cancer deaths were witnessed after the Chernobyl disaster.
- Cataracts resulted from high doses of ionizing radiation (Omar-Nazir et al., 2018).
- Individuals exposed to the radiations suffered cardiovascular disease.
Radiation Syndrome
- Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) was witnessed.
- Symptoms that indicated ARS include diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.
- 134 people were confirmed to have ARS (Abe, 2022).
- Radioactive iodine exposure caused thyroid cancer.
- ARS patients developed gastrointestinal or marrow syndrome (Omar-Nazir et al., 2018).
- Deaths attributed to the ARS were also witnessed.
Radiation Measurement
- Geiger counter used for measurement.
- Doses of radionuclides and radiations were measured.
- 300Sv/hr was the recorded fatal dose (Abe, 2022).
- Challenges were encountered during measurement.
- 500 roentgens exposed to those unprotected (Abe, 2022).
- Radiation levels far higher than the estimated values.
Dose-Response Relationship
- Leukemia risk reduced in recovering workers.
- Thyroid cancer linked with the highest radiation dose.
- Dose-response relationship was also evident in:
- Renal failure.
- Acute distress.
- Bone marrow failure.
References
Abe, Y. (2022). Exploring radiation measurement after Fukushima: When media ecology meets citizen science. Metode Science Studies Journal, (12), 40-45.
Chernobyl Gallery. (n.d.). Chernobyl disaster: Radiation levels. Web.
Havig, C. (2020). Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Web.
Medhora, M. (2022). Advances in mitigation of injuries from radiological terrorism or nuclear accidents. Web.
Omar-Nazir, L., Shi, X., Moller, A., Mousseau, T., Byun, S., Hancock, S., Seymour, C., & Mothersill, C. (2018). Long-term effects of ionizing radiation after the Chernobyl accident: Possible contribution of historic dose. Environmental Research, 165, 55-62.
Toki, H., Wada, T., Manabe, Y., Hirota, S., Higuchi, T., Tanihata, I., Satoh, K., & Bando, M. (2020). Relationship between environmental radiation and radioactivity and childhood thyroid cancer found in Fukushima health management survey. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-12.
Westmore, G. (2020). Radioactive material: Truth and lies in’Chernobyl’. Screen Education, (96), 16-23.