The Legacy of Chernobyl [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Zhores A. Medvedev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0631169555 | ISBN-13: 978-0631169550 | Edition: illustrated edition

In the early hours of 26 April 1986 Leonid Toptunov, a young, inexperienced and tired operator at the Soviet nuclear plant at Chernobyl, near Kiev, allowed the level of reactivity in one of the plant's reactors to fall dangerously low. As he attempted to correct this, the power in the reactor rose dramatically and uncontrollably, and a powerful steam explosion took place, closely followed by a massive second explosion which started a hugh graphite fire and blew millions of curies of radioactivity into the environment. So occurred the worst disaster in the history of nuclear energy. Zhores Medvedev, gives an analysis of the long-term natural and global effects of the catastrophe, examining the technical, environmental, agricultural, health and economic impact of the accident, the largest industrial accident in human history. Officially it has been estimated to have cost more than US $20 billion by 1989, and this is almost certainly an underestimate due to the fact that more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the contaminated zone and permanently resettled, about 1,000,000 people continue to live under a special regime because their homes are in an area of increased radiation danger, nearly 500,000 civilians and soldiers took part in the decontamination work and in other emergencies and more than 600,000 people (including 250,000 children) received high doses of external and internal radiation and have been entered in medical register similar to the one set up for survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in 1945. Why did the catastrophe happen and what will be its legacy? This book offers an account of the technical aspects of the Chernobyl accident, based on documents and information that have only recently become available. It indicates that the accident was inevitable in the context of the poor safety record of Soviet nuclear plants which finally began to emerge only in 1988. The result was the closure of many reactors (and the cancellation of ones planned or in construction) for safety reasons and because of public pressure. Chernobyl's implications for global energy supplies and for the energy crisis in the USSR and Eastern Europe have contributed to a reconsideration of economic and political priorities in the Soviet Union and to perestroika and glasnost.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Chernobyl reactor disaster in April 1986 forced the permanent evacuation of some 100,000 people; more than half a million citizens in the Soviet Union and surrounding countries were showered with dangerous levels of radiation. Soviet biologist Medvedev forcefully argues that consumption of contaminated agricultural products, rather than the immediate fallout, will cause most of the health problems associated with this catastrophe, including a marked increase in cancer. He disputes the official version of the accident, which placed emphasis on human negligence while minimizing the reactor design flaws, which are pinpointed here. There were several previous nuclear accidents in the U.S.S.R.; the secrecy surrounding them was a major contributory factor in the runaway chain reaction at Chernobyl, Medvedev charges. The most comprehensive and revealing account of Chernobyl to date, this report gauges the political impact of the inflationary energy crisis precipitated by the 1986 meltdown.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Noted scientist Medvedev makes the most comprehensive examination to date of the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power accident in the Soviet Union, also the subject of Robert Gale's Final Warning ( LJ 5/15/88) and Iurii Scherbak's Chernobyl: A Documentary Story ( LJ 8/89). Medvedev presents new information in a number of technical areas and addresses environmental, agricultural, technological, public health, and political repercussions of the accident. He also provides a history of accidents in the Soviet Union, and discusses the future of nuclear power in the Soviet Union and around the world. In a particularly interesting segment of the book, he argues that the Chernobyl catastrophe contributed to the implementation of perestroika. Despite its technical terminology, this book remains accessible to general readers and will be a valuable resource to those concerned with the future of nuclear power.
- Jennifer Scarlott, World Policy Inst., New York
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Blackwell Publishers; illustrated edition edition (April 26, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631169555
• ISBN-13: 978-0631169550
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,153,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, October 3, 2006

By 

FPSFAN - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Legacy of Chernobyl (Paperback)

This book takes you right into the Chernobyl disaster. From the bungling government and perverse incentives placed on the nuclear engineer teams which made it a disaster just waiting to happen, to the clean up, evacuation (largely also botched) and health effects of the nuclear fallout.

It is amazingly detailed. The author even discusses wind patterns during the disaster which effected what areas were worst effected by what radioactive material (as the disaster progressed the wind AND the composition of the radioactive dust changed). I can honestly say that I was never really bored even though it gets technical in places.

The author's writing style actually makes a reader feel that they are there when the Reactor explodes... not to mention (for one example out of many)sharing frustration at the government's incompetence when they delay an evacuation for half a day thereby increasing the populations poisoning over ten-fold.

Highly Recommended.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CHERNOBYL: A ONE ACT PLAY, January 3, 2007

By 

T. G. Harpster "STAGE MANAGER" (LAS VEGAS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Legacy of Chernobyl (Paperback)

The book was a fast read. I found the information fascinating, but the author suddenly was throwing numbers at me that I didn't quite understand.

My main reason for the purchase of this book was the info for a play. The info was clear and easy to understand, (except for the numbers I.E.

40 Ci/km and 2 just above the m, the equivalent of 1,500,000Bq/m with the number 2 above the m. I guess that means to the second power) Anyway I reccommend THE LEGACY OF CHERNOBYL BY Zhores Medvedev if anyone is interested in what happened at Chernobyl. This book helped me to write the one-act play "CHERNOBYL."

22 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little too technical for me., April 10, 2001

By 

Heather Lowe "hslowe" (Corning NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legacy of Chernobyl (Paperback)

I bought this book hoping for a general introduction to the explosion, its causes and its aftermath. The book does contain such information, but it's buried underneath a heavy layer of technical detail that can be, at times, mind-numbingly boring. Unless you are a nuclear engineer or otherwise interested in the minutiae of the reactor's workings, I'd skip this book.