Cause and Effect and Comparison-Contrast - Essay Example

Lecturer: Cause and Effect and Comparison-Contrast Cause and Effect-Chernobyl Nuclear Accident The Chernobyl nuclear disaster inUkraine has been considered the worst nuclear accident that has ever occurred in the history of the world. An explosion and a fire in the plant released a high level of radioactive materials into the immediate and outside environment. Scientifically, nuclear radiations have very adverse health effects to people which may include permanent deformities and cancer (Rissman).

With 31 people dead during the process of the accident, the government required that at least each able Ukrainian need to take part in the cleansing of the region. This was to try and minimize the effects of the radiations to individuals who were to work there for longer periods of time. The radiation was said to be present in the entire environment where water, air, plants and animals were all affected (Aleksievich). The situation was made intense by the fact that people in the region did not know what had just happened and those who were travelling to Chernobyl from other places continued with their journeys.

Another cause that increased the effects of the radioactive materials was the steam explosion. Steam is less dense than the normal atmospheric water and therefore was able to be carried v\by the wind to far distances. Moreover, on condensation, it landed on buildings, people, the fauna and flora. This increased the level of intoxication and spread of the radiations. The last cause of the effects was the actual removal of the debris that was the core of the nuclear plant. It required only 40 seconds of access to this site by heavily dressed men in protective gear.

The effects of the radiations to people who took part in the cleaning process, regardless of whether they lived close to the plant were still seen (Lusted). The government involved 500,000 people to clean the place and most of them were young and energetic men and women. These were to be the next generation. In fact, within a few hours of the explosion, people in the environment, who were absolutely oblivious of what had happened, started experiencing illnesses and headaches. Uncontrollable fits of coughing and vomiting were also experienced by the people as well as tastes of metallic substances in their mouths.

Many of these people were caught without any information about such an atrocity. These people suffered for longer and by 2005, more than 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer were reported (Cheney, Journey to Chernobyl: Encounters in a Radioactive Zone). This number includes children who were born in the recent years. The second effect to the people was mental health. These individuals were lacking control over their actions, were weak and helpless. The third effect was the actual death caused directly and indirectly by the radiations.

Given that the specific focus is death to people away from the plant, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine itself has witnessed deaths ranging from a total of 10,000 to 200,000. In conclusion, the Chernobyl accident had a more advanced effect to people outside and far from the plant as it had to those close to it. ReferencesAleksievich, Svetlana. Voices from Chernobyl. New York: Dalkey Archive Press, 2005.Cheney, Glenn Alan. Chernobyl: The Ongoing Story of the Worlds Deadliest Nuclear Disaster. Chernobyl: New Discovery Books, 1993.

Journey to Chernobyl: Encounters in a Radioactive Zone. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2007.Lusted, Marcia Amidon. Chernobyl Disaster. New York : ABDO, 2011.Rissman, Rebecca. The Chernobyl Disaster. New York: ABDO, 2014.