This is a visual photographic and spoken essay on the devastating legacy of Chernobyl. The man who took these photos - Paul Fusco - tells his story and what he saw. This visual presentation is NOT for the faint hearted. It features children, of all ages, who have suffered the long lasting - no, PERMANENT - effects of radiation exposure. I did a Google search on Three Mile Island and Chernobyl after hearing Michiu Kaku repeatedly mention both of these nuclear disasters in his analysis of Japan's nuclear reactors and their melt down.
The long term physical effects of radiation exposure in children (and animals) is horrible. This is on my mind as the crisis in Japan worsens. Birth defects in children will rise after this. I think that's almost a certainty.
I was about 18 years old and in my senior year of high school when this disaster occurred. I don't think I fully understood what was going on or what the long term effects would be on people and the environment. This video essay has enabled me to better understand the horrors that a nuclear disaster can unleash.
Nuclear reactors and nuclear sources of energy are not toys or things to be taken lightly.
At the end of the visual essay is a time line that will load, allowing you to click on a specific time, which will give you information about what was occurring at the nuclear power plant at that moment in time.
http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/chernobyl
If this is too graphic, Bonnie, then I understand if you have to remove it. I did not understand the dangers of radiation and radio active materials and human exposure to those materials until I saw this.
And yes, I cried while watching. Children were so dear to Michael's heart and soul. It is not just the children who suffer, but also the parents of those children.
There must be valuable lessons learned from these horrible events. History cannot and must not be allowed to constantly repeat itself.
This is another link with some photographs of the area surrounding Chernobyl and notations and information about the photos. Looking at the pictures, it's rather eery - almost as if the clock has stopped. In a sense, it has. Nothing was ever the same after this horrible disaster, and people's lives are affected by it to this day.
This film footage was made by an extremely brave man. The notes within the video tell his story as well as provide additional information from a first-hand eye witness perspective. God bless him for his bravery and for leaving behind this incredibly valuable visual 'note book' of what took place and how this disaster was being handled.
This report does not cover the birth defects and mutations in children but it does point out what is happening in the environment and most alarmingly of all the staggering length of time it will take for the chemicals inside the entombed reactor to break down. Do pay close attention to the "witches brew..." comment toward the end of the video...
Last Edited by on Mar 29, 2011 11:44 PM
