Chernobyl disaster: four ways it continues to have an impact

Health concerns

Chernobyl’s blast released 400 times more radiation than the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima, according to the Associated Press, and hundreds of thousands of locals were diagnosed with radiation sickness after the explosion. New diagnoses stemming from Chernobyl are still emerging and health organizations are worried about abnormal rates of cancer in the region.

However, many health experts are more concerned about the psychological toll of the nuclear disaster, according to Time. The stress of evacuation and rapid relocation, as well as the lack of clarity surrounding lingering concerns about long-term health effects, has taken a toll on the mental and emotional health of evacuees. The World Health Organization has invested $2.5 million on radiation education – specifically to bring their concerns to scale with any actual threat.

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