The accident at Chernobyl; Health and environmental consequences and the implications for risk management

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Annual Review of Energy; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.eg.13.110188.002123· OSTI ID:6922787

Hohenemser, C ^[1]

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1. Dept. of Physics and Center for Environment, Technology and Development, Clark Univ., Worcester, MA (US)

The accident at Chernobyl constituted the largest release of radioactivity ever recorded in a single technological accident. It was caused by a combination of design and management errors, and produced a highly variable pattern of fallout, strongly correlated with local rainfall. Even at 1500 km, fallout in some places far exceeded the levels recorded during the period of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. The burden of 31 acute deaths was surprisingly small, and was limited to emergency workers who had to cope with the fire at the plant. The cost of potential chronic health effects, including as many as 28,000 cancers worldwide, in contrast, is surprisingly large, and is localized in Soviet Europe and non-Soviet Europe in approximately equal parts. The author discusses how the pattern of dispersion and exposure due to Chernobyl demands reconsideration of emergency planning for nuclear power stations, not only in the Soviet Union, but also in the West. Revised emergency plans should involve the combination of decentralized and centralized response efforts capable of providing not only acute risk management but also adequate protection against chronic exposure, particularly via ingestion.

• OSTI ID: 6922787
• Journal Information: Annual Review of Energy; (USA), Journal Name: Annual Review of Energy; (USA) Vol. 13; ISSN 0362-1626; ISSN AREND
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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