This book is intended to serve as a fact-based sourcebook on the Chernobyl disaster. It covers the accident, its causes and effects—especially the radiological consequences, including the health effects, and the international assistance to enclose the radioactive remains in a safe state. Above all else, it provides reliable information and data for both the specialist and layperson alike.
Special attention is devoted to the health effects, which were dramatized in the recent made for TV miniseries' Chernobyl', and likely dominate most people's knowledge of the disaster. A significant part addresses the fate of the 'Liquidators' who cleaned up the mess. Considerable information and data are included on what was released in the accident and what remains (what is referred to as the Fuel Containing Material) that needs to be kept safely for a very long time.
It is comprised of a compendium of excerpts from cited authoritative published reports and journal articles, quoted without alteration, and brief summaries of the development and implementation of the Shelter Implementation Plan leading to the New safe Confinement.
Some informed perspectives and editorial observations are included based on a quarter century personal involvement in the international community response to Chernobyl's challenges.
