Tchernobyl

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986, when reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl power plant, located in Ukraine, exploded during a safety test. The explosion released radioactive elements into the atmosphere, which contaminated much of Europe, but especially Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

The human toll of the disaster is very controversial and difficult to establish, because the health effects of radiation can appear long after exposure and be confused with other causes. Official sources vary considerably in their estimates of the number of direct or indirect deaths linked to the accident.

In conclusion, there is no definitive answer to the number of deaths from Chernobyl, because the sources are divergent and the methods of assessment are uncertain. We must therefore take into account the variability and reliability of the available data, and recognize that the disaster had considerable health, environmental, economic and social consequences for millions of people.