Firemen arrived on the scene pretty quickly but were not made aware that the place was a radioactive bastard and so none were suitably dressed. One fireman is reported to have joked to the others “…there must be an incredible amount of radiation here. We’ll be lucky if we’re all still alive in the morning.” He was spot on, sadly. Most either died at the scene or in the next couple of days.

The firemen that did live long enough to tell the tale reported that the radiation gave them a pins and needles feeling in their faces and hands and that they could taste metal in their mouths. In all, 50 emergency workers died in the next week.

Nine children died from thyroid cancer. The longer term effects are hard to predict, but the International Journal of Cancer posted an article estimating that 25,000 more cases of cancer above and beyond the normal rates will occur within the region. ‘Balls up’ really doesn’t cut it here. Chernobyl killed, kills and will keep killing.

The nearest city to Chernobyl is Pripyat, and within a couple of hours of the explosions people were collapsing and puking everywhere; even though the Russian government knew what had happened, Pripyat wasn’t alerted or evacuated until the afternoon of the 27th. A full 36 hours after the turds had hit the fan. This is an excerpt from the broadcast that residents of Pripyat heard:

“For the attention of the residents of Pripyat! The City Council informs you that due to the accident at Chernobyl Power Station in the city of Pripyat the radioactive conditions in the vicinity are deteriorating. The Communist Party, its officials and the armed forces are taking necessary steps to combat this. Nevertheless, with the view to keep people as safe and healthy as possible, the children being top priority, we need to temporarily evacuate the citizens in the nearest towns of Kiev Oblast….”

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