Page 73 - All About History - Issue 180-19

Ghosts Of Chernobyl

Nuclear fallout moved through the environment in the days, weeks and months after the disaster

Surface dust
Radioactive particles coated
buildings, roads, rivers, lakes, Contaminated air
parks and gardens. For ten days after the disaster,
clouds of radioactive particles
Deposition The fallout started as
Surface deposits billowed into the air.
particles thrown up into
the air

Direct External
inhalation irradiation
Inhalation of
radioactive dust Deposition
Deposition Deposition
onto skin or
clothing
Runoff External Root
water irradiation uptake
Plants took up
radioactive
caesium-137,
Plants and crops
External adding it into
irradiation their stems
and leaves.
Sand and sediment
External
Water bodies irradiation
Particles
on plants
Rain washed
radioactive Root uptake
In the water
particles onto
Radioactive particles leaves and into Root uptake
dropped to the
the soil.
bottom of lakes and Ingestion
ponds, building up in
the sediment.
Topsoil/subsoil
Aquatic
plants
Plants took up
Aquatic plants caesium-137,
bringing
radioactive
particles into
Milk, meat,
the underwater etc
food chain.
Animals
Fish Meat and milk
Fish accumulated Cows fed on contaminated plants
iodine-131 in their flesh Aquatic animals produced milk containing
and strontium-90 in iodine-131 and meat containing
their bones. caesium-137.
Drinking water
Food and drink

01:23:40 01:23:58 01:28 02:15 06:35 10:00 36 hours after Swedish The US
gets its first
monitors
the disaster,
The emergency A steam With the An emergency The firefighters Sand, clay, officials begin pick up large look at the
shutdown explosion reactor’s meeting of have boron, lead an evacuation amounts of disaster
button is occurs as the exposure to air Soviet officials successfully and dolomite of 115,000 radiation. from satellite
pressed, but coolant water is starting fires, gathers, put out the is dropped DAY TWO – 27 APRIL 1986 people from DAY THREE – 28 APRIL 1986 Officials DAY FOUR – 29 APRIL 1986 photos and
the control vaporised in the firefighters closing roads fires except for onto the Pripyat and admit there see the full
rods jam as pipes, blowing arrive, but wear in and out of the one in the burning core nearby towns has been an devastation
they enter the roof off the no protective the nearby reactor core, in attempts and villages. accident but of the
the core reactor clothing for town of which burns for to extinguish They’re told it’s claim it is incident
radiation Pripyat several days the fire temporary under control

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