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#13
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05-20-2009, 01:24 AM
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Re: Chernobyl and Pripyat (1986 Nuclear Accident)
Well, kind of... There were hundreds of thousands of guys called in to try and seal the reactor and clean the whole place up and in the first couple of days they didn't know they were going to be exposed to radiation like that - they weren't even given masks or proper suits at first. So they were unaware of the danger they were in. In the town of Pripyat which was evacuated the next day they were not told that they were being irradiated - they were told to leave their homes while the area around the plant was cleaned up and were told they could return in 3 days. When residents had asked the police why they were wearing masks they were told it was for training purposes. So they were pretty much lied to and the government really screwed a lot of people over... Actually, one of my good friends, Lyubov, who I came to know through unusual circumstances, was from Pripyat and was evacuated after the accident. Both her and her son have suffered terribly - both psychologically and medically. She's a fantastic woman and a real inspiration but it's clear she is still very angry about the situation. The victims do not get any help for their medical treatments now and most can't afford to pay for it themselves. The government has really just tossed them to one side... Now their illnesses are just put down to "radiophobia"... Lyubov has suffered different cancers over the years and spends a great deal of time unable to leave the house... As for the helicopter crash... The pilot was already irradiated so his flying skills were poor to say the least... He actually flew the chopper into some power lines and that's what caused the crash. |