Chernobyl Legacy

[Fibonacheech]

just think... oklahoma city is worse than this

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by I AM EL-NINO

Birth defects are a common occurance when the expecting mother or father ,even many years later, have been exposed to the amounts of Radiation that these people have been exposed to.
This is a real tragedy of epic proportions. I feel so sorry for those people.
I was actually stationed in Germany when this happened.

It also has a lot to do with the type of radiation. I was reading about the Russian scientist that accidentally stuck his head in a particle accelerator and took the biggest dose of radiation ever documented. He received 10X the lethal dose and went on to lead a normal life and had children born with no birth defects whatsoever.

Bugorski, a 36-year-old researcher at the Institute for High Energy Physics in Protvino, was checking a piece of accelerator equipment that had malfunctioned - as had, apparently, the several safety mechanisms. Leaning over the piece of equipment, Bugorski stuck his head in the space through which the beam passes on its way from one part of the accelerator tube to the next and saw a flash brighter than a thousand suns. He felt no pain.
From what we know about radiation, about 500 to 600 rads is enough to kill a person. The beam measured about 2,000 rads when it entered his skull and around 3,000 rads when it exited. (though we don’t know of anyone else who has been exposed to radiation in the form of a proton beam moving at about the speed of sound). The left side of his face swollen beyond recognition, Bugorski was taken to a clinic in Moscow so that doctors could observe his death over the following two to three weeks.
Over the next few days, skin on the back of his head and on his face just next to his left nostril peeled away to reveal the path the beam had burned through the skin, the skull, and the brain tissue. The inside of his head continued to burn away: all the nerves on the left were gone in two years, paralyzing that side of his face. Still, not only did Bugorski not die, but he remained a normally functioning human being, capable even of continuing in science. For the first dozen years, the only real evidence that something had gone neurologically awry were occasional petit mal seizures; over the last few years Bugorski has also had six grand mals. The dividing line of his life goes down the middle of his face: the right side has aged, while the left froze 19 years ago. When he concentrates, he wrinkles only half his forehead.

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/10/05/...e-accelerator/


EDIT: update from the wikipedia, this guy is still alive:

Bugorski continued to work in science, and held the post of Coordinator of physics experiments.[2] Because of the Soviet Union's policy of maintaining secrecy on nuclear power-related issues, Bugorski did not speak about the accident for over a decade. He continued going to the Moscow radiation clinic twice a year, for examination, and to commune with other nuclear-accident victims. For years, he remained a poster boy for Soviet and Russian radiation medicine. In 1996, he applied for disabled status, to receive his free epilepsy medication. Bugorski showed interest in making himself available for study to Western researchers, but couldn't afford to leave Protvino and go west.[1]

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by david austin

just think... oklahoma city is worse than this

yeah, I was thinking the same thing until I got about 2 pix in and lost all of my humor...


man, that's f'n sad.

[Fibonacheech]

it is sad... which makes the fact that a town in america would even be voted with such company is down right absurd

[Delfonic]

I don't even know what to say.

[steve-o]

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by david austin

it is sad... which makes the fact that a town in america would even be voted with such company is down right absurd

I lived in OKC for 4 years... Trust me, it's worserer.

[MacGyver]

Now I feel sad. I need to hug a kitten.

[LuisGonzalez]

I had to stop eating.

[Deff Gordon]

Originally Posted by Dionysos

Except that it's not real.

only not real that she was alone. she was on a group tour is all... the photos are real.

[BradH]

My friend is completely blind in one eye from Chernobyl. He was born within like 20 miles of that shit or something.

[PeterS]

Originally Posted by e-brake

Bugorski stuck his head in the space through which the beam passes on its way from one part of the accelerator tube to the next and saw a flash brighter than a thousand suns. He felt no pain.

I hate when that happens.

You're working on your particle accelerator, take a peek under the hood and your associate, Otto decides it would be funny to fire it up.

"Thanks Otto, now I know what I'm going to be for Halloween"

[PETA]

wow - Otto is a dick

[HarveytheRabbit]

Oh my god...I can't believe there are still people living there!

[Guido]

It's a slow and cruel way to die.