Meltdown

Meltdown

Meltdown Immediately without any explanation, residents from the Chernobyl area were quickly evacuated. Over 50,000 people were transported by Kiev buses (Chernobyl). Only by Monday morning did people start getting suspicious. Monitoring stations in other parts of the country reported radiation levels up to one hundred times normal. By that afternoon Swedish scientists found isotopes like krypton, xenon, iodine, cesium and cobalt in the fallout, a radioactive mix that could only have come from an accident involving a reactor. The Swedes concluded that a meltdown occurred somewhere. Later on they determined when the cloud arrived, what route it took and began backtracking. They were able to draw a line going through Latvia, over Moscow and into Minsk. However, further testing proved that Chernobyl was the site of the meltdown. Poland was the country worst affected by the radiation in all of Europe as toddlers were treated with iodine and milk was dumped out. In other countries radiation spread as well. In Italy border patrols halted thirty two freight cars loaded with cattle, sheep and horses from Poland. After a week they sent it back and banned all imports of meat, livestock and vegetables. In Great Britain, members of the London Festival Ballet canceled the Soviet Union tour which would had been the first one in twenty five years (Chernobyl). Besides that a wide concern spread throughout Europe about milk and water. In West Germany, citizens were urged to keep children inside and stay out of the rain which carried radiation. In Minsk all were advised to stay inside, shut the windows and wash often. Iodine pills were distributed among all. Radiation spread as far as Ottawa, Canada, where radiation was six times as much as normal rates. With the worry of U.S. citizens, all shipment of fruit from Europe was stopped. Even in upstate New York radiation was found and many went out to buy iodine tablets. Most Soviet citizens were disappointed with the president,...

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