e dangerous. About four and half-hours after the explosion, all of the fires were extinguished, except the graphite fire inside the reactor crater. By using 37 fire crews consisting of 186 firemen and 81 fire engines, nine days later the fire had been extinguished. The next morning there was no hint of the explosion. Everyone went about like a normal day. Children were outside playing, mailmen delivered the mail, and even weddings took place. When locals asked what was going on over at the plant Soviet officials said arent you used to that? It was a steam discharge from the power plant. The night after the explosion a 30-kilometer safety zone was established around the nuclear power station. It was declared that everyone within this zone was to be evacuated. After the residents were exposed to radiation for 36 hours this decision had been made. Chernobyl affected the health of many in the surrounding areas. The numbers are almost irrelevant in the fact that this disastrous event should have never happened. The people who lived around the nuclear power station had mutations in their germ cells due to the radiation. Because of this the people can turn out to be deformed or disfigured. It has been reported that 760 children in the contaminated Safety Zone have thyroid cancer. Also birth defects have more than doubled inside the Safety Zone. A major result of the Chernobyl accident was the spread of radiation. The European Community put a 90-day ban on agricultural goods from Eastern Europe. One of the main concerns of the eastern countries was the cloud of smoke and debris traveling through Europe. Scientists identified 16 different radionucleotides in the air as well as in the grass. Some of this contamination revealed pure ruthenium, which was proof of a major meltdown. The only thing done was the placement of a Sarcophagus over reactor 4. This structure would help prevent radioactive particles from escaping as they were from the reactor...
