Chernobyl: Past, Present, and Future

This PBS Newshour special report, Revisiting Chernobyl: A Nuclear Disaster Site of Epic Proportions, features a reporter going back to the site of the 1986 disaster nearly 25 years later. I was surprised to see that the condition in the area was still rather deplorable. One of the most striking scenes in the report showed the reporter and a physicist from the University of Kiev trekking through the “Red Forest” so named due to the fact that the radiation had caused the leaves of the trees to turn red and the trees to subsequently die. The Geiger counter displayed high levels of radiation in this area explaining why even after 25 years, life did not inhabit this part of the Exclusion Zone.

Despite these above average levels of radiation that have persisted for the past 25 years (and are expected to remain high) and the increased incidences of leukemia and thyroid cancer in children, the UN scientific committee reports that there is no clear link between the radiation and disease in the exposed population. The committee also reports that an increased incidence of psychological reactions stemmed from fear of the radiation and not the radiation itself. Yet, local birds have shown mutations and tumors that have not been seen elsewhere. It is interesting that some scientists still deny that radiation from Chernobyl is responsible for cancer in children and I wonder what potential economic or political incentives there are for making such claims. More importantly, the lasting effects of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl provide a salient example of how our actions impact future generations. It seems that we must consider this more in respect to nuclear power, especially with how we can safely and effectively deal with nuclear waste and decommissioned nuclear reactors. Are we destroying the earth for future generations by using nuclear power without good ways to dispose of the waste?