Describing why the Chernobyl accident occurred and eye witness accounts, this book examines the impact on life, health, and the environment, including patients with acute radiation syndrome, resettlement of the population, dose measurement and estimation methods, contamination of the environment, and the predicted cancer rate in the 21st century.

Authored by a member of the UK Government Delegation that attended the first post-accident conference in August 1986 at the IAEA in Vienna, the book also covers the accidents at Three Mile Island, Kyshtym, and Tokaimura; the effects of the Hiroshoma and Nagasaki atomic bombs; and information concerning the semi-palatinsk nuclear weapons test site in the former USSR.

List of Color Plates. Preface. Acknowledgments. About the Author. 1 Radiation Doses and Effects. 2 Nuclear Reactors. 3 Explosion. 4 Radionuclide Releases. 5 Early Medical Response and Follow-up of Patients with Acute Radiation Syndrome. 6 Evacuation and Resettlement. 7 Sarcophagus. 8 Nuclear Power Past and Future. 9 Dose Measurement and Estimation Methods. 10 Population Doses. Contamination in Farming, Milk, Wild Animals and Fish. Decontamination. 13 Water Contamination. 14 Ground Contamination. 15 Psychological Illness. 16 Other Non-Malignant Diseases and Conditions. 17 Cancer Risk Specification. 18 Cancer. 19 The legasov Testament. 20 Under the Star of Chernobyl. Glossary. References. Index.