Where Are Chernobyl’s Children?

Ever since it became easier to get into the Chernobyl area, there has been an increase in people trying to dramatize it. I suggest watching this short video with Tom Scott, about his recent visit, where they try to inject a bit of reality into the situation: a lot of looted/stripped buildings that have stood abandoned for decades. It's impressive, but doesn't have a lot to do with radiation or the reactor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhYEkRjUWM8

There are certainly a lot of areas where you shouldn't linger for extended periods of time. The reactor accident (and how the situation was handled afterwords[1]) was absolutely terrible.

That said, it is important to remember that - even accounting for the Chernobyl disaster (and the utterly insignificant radiological[3] disaster in Fukushima) - nuclear power is still the only viable option if we want to have energy in the future, as it is the cleanest. Everything else pollutes more and only a few technologies even come close to making enough power.

Unfortunately, the Hiroshima Syndrome[4] is epidemic, and the current wave of "Chernobyl disaster theatre" is only making these fears worse. We need to find better ways to educate people and counter the decades of misinformation and fear. The HN crowd like to "disrupt" things, so may I suggest finding ways to disrupt the common fears about radiation?

[1] My greatest respect and thanks to the people - the "liquidators" - who had to be the "bio-robots" that cleaned up the worst areas when the mechanical robots failed from the radiation. If you haven't seen it, I suggest watching this[2] footage of 3828 people that cleaned up one of the worst areas of the reactor's roof, [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfDa8tR25dk

[3] the tsunami disaster was far worse, but isn't relevant to my point

[4] http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/what-is-the-hiroshima-syndr...

> Don't get your hopes up

I know, but it's worth asking anyway.

Note that I'm suggesting education, not power generation. The generators can come later, but only after the radiophobia is addressed.

You should check cancer rate increased in Belarus, as Wikipedia states: ...Reports from Soviet and Western scientists indicate that Belarus received about 60% of the contamination that fell on the former Soviet Union...

You see, you've stepped onto the ground rich with history and connotations. Growing up I saw in newspapers photos of children with flippers instead of legs. I've heard kids being called "Chernobyl kid" on streets by other kids. "Chernobyl kid" as in insult meant "damaged kid".

More generally term "Chernobyl kid" means (or used to mean) something very specific: person who was affected by radiation in a way which caused mutations. For mutations to be caused, radiation exposure needs to happen during prenatal development. Just being displaced with your family to other region does not make you a Chernobyl kid. That's why I mentioned wrong generation.

We are talking about boxers who have exceptional physical characteristics. When you talk about Chernobyl in this context, things like antagonist "Rocky IV" pop into mind. Juiced on chems. Or a mutant.

Calling a world champion a mutant is an insult. He has made it to the top thanks to hard work, talent, and smart management.