4-30-86 . . . There was a nuclear accident in the Soviet Union recently, at the town of Chernobyl. Details are sketchy, but apparently there’s a cloud of radiation floating over Europe, and some of it is expected to reach the west coast of the United States in a few days. Radiation scares me, because I don’t understand its nature or how it affects sentient beings. All I know is that it causes cancer and birth defects. If this accident doesn’t raise the consciousness of the American people about the perils of nuclear power plants, I don’t know what will. A healthy, rational debate about the pros and cons of nuclear power would be to the benefit of us all. I’ll have more to say about the Chernobyl tragedy as the story unfolds. From what I’ve heard, many Russians have been killed or contaminated by the fallout.
Twenty Years Ago
Posted at 8:05 PM CT on Sunday, 30 April 2006
Mark Twain said, "it ain't what we don't know that hurts us, it's what we know that ain't so.""I KNOW it causes cancer and birth defects" is half true.
In massive doses, yes. At the levels the average population was exposed to (ballpark equivalent to a couple months of natural background radiation,)