Chernobyl

Chernousenko's "Chernobyl" is a first-hand account of theevents and facts surrounding this global disaster: The firstpart of the book includes an absoring account of whathappened at Chernobyl nuclear power station on April 26,1986, as well as a review of the rectification measurestaken so far. The author re-analyzes the causes of theaccident, confronting us with startling details aboutcritical design faults in the (RBMK) reactors of theChernobyl type. - The second part deals with the long-rangeand long-term effects of the catastrophe on man andenvironment, including a wealth of yet unpublished dataalong with proposals for future action. - Physicist VladimirChernousenko is eminently qualified to write on this topic:In 1986 he was appointed representative of the UkrainianAcademy of Sciences in Chernobyl and the "Zone". He workedin the so-called Special Zone (10-km radius around thereactor) where he received large radiation doses. He wasco-author of the internal Government Report for PresidentGorbachev and the Supreme Soviet. Until 1991 he wasscientificdirector of the 30-km exclusion zone. - This bookis a vital step towards establishing the truth about thecauses of the accident and - even more important - theactual scale of its aftermath. It provides the specialistwith the scientific and medical data needed for furtherinvestigation and for designing effective countermeasures,whilethe lay reader will profit most from the absorbingaccounts and personal statements of eyewitnesses and otherpeople directly affected by the catastrophe. - A uniquecollection of photographs adds further poignancy to thewritten descriptions. Appendices are added to explain themost important technical terms for the non-specialist and toprovide technical details for the specialist. The book isof equal interest to natural scientists, medics andinterested laypersons.