Latest update: 10/05/2011 

- Belarus - Chernobyl - nuclear power - Ukraine


Chernobyl debate still rages in Belarus

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Twenty-five years ago a combination of human error and design flaws caused the world's worst ever nuclear accident. Today, the true extent of the damage caused by the catastrophe is still the subject of much disinformation and disagreement.

FOCUS
By Gulliver CRAGG

Twenty-five years ago a combination of human error and design flaws caused the world's worst ever nuclear accident. It happened at Chernobyl, in what was then Soviet Ukraine. The wind blew huge doses of radiation northwest into neighbouring Belarus and beyond. At the time, Soviet authorities were heavily criticised for failing to inform the population of the dangers. But even today, the true extent of the damage caused by the catastrophe is the subject of much disinformation and disagreement. Estimates of the death toll range from around 50 to nearly a million.

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