Accountability for Dangerous Mitigation Efforts

Accountability for Dangerous Mitigation Efforts

When the Chernobyl nuclear accident took place, the response framework was nowhere near what it should have been. As such, many people died and many others became sick in later years from the effects of the radiation to which they had been exposed (Cheney, 1995). The main reason behind so much sickness and death was that the workers at the nuclear plant did not recognize or acknowledge the severity of the incident. Even with pieces of the reactor lying on the ground around them, they still felt that they could still pump water into the reactor and stop any further problems (Medvedev, 1991). In the meantime, there was so much radiation being released that the workers who were in the plant ended up dying within days from the heavy doses of radiation they received. They did not put on protective gear. Some of the workers who did survive, along with some of the firefighters and policemen who survived even after they responded to the incident, say that everyone knew the danger. Others say they did not know the risk they were facing.

Firefighters were there within minutes, but they were under the initial impression that they were only fighting an electrical fire, and had not been informed that there had been an actual explosion of the reactor itself (Cheney, 1995; Medvedev, 1991). Once the fire was put out, it was more clear what the actual damage was, and the workers who had remained at the plant began to get sick almost immediately. Evacuations of towns and villages downwind from the explosion and near the plant were evacuated. Many of the people who were forced to leave their homes were never allowed to return, and had to simply abandon everything they left behind (Medvedev, 1991). Even so, there were quite a few individuals who still got sick, because the evacuation efforts were not begun as quickly as they should have (or could have) been. The sicknesses in these surrounding areas were not immediate, but over time the rates of cancer (particularly thyroid cancer) in people who lived in that area began to rise and remained high for some time (Medvedev, 1991).

People who were exposed to the Chernobyl incident and ensuing radiation as children or young people are still having problems today, as they get older. Cancer rates for people who lived in that area at the time of Chernobyl are still higher than average in an amount that is statistically significant (Medvedev, 1991). Many of them were (and are) angry about the danger to which they were exposed and the lack of response from the government in a timely manner. Faster evacuations could have save lives, but so could have a faster response from the actual plant workers. As they continued to pump water into the reactor all night, there were many issues that were ignored and that indicated that there were massive amounts of radiation escaping from the damaged reactor (Medvedev, 1991).