Beauty and the beast, by Helena

Nothing escapes radiation, by Irena

Chernobyl, our hell, by Eugenia

Self-portrait, by Natasha

“It Can’t Happen Here”

•U.S. reaction to Chernobyl, 1986

–Blamed on Communism, graphite reactor

•Also Soviet reaction to Three-Mile Island, 1979

–Blamed on Capitalism, pressurized-water reactor

•No technology 100% safe

–Three-Mile Island bubble almost burst

Three-Mile Island, PA 1979

Health around TMI

•In 1979, hundreds of people reported nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and skin rashes. Many pets were reported dead or showed signs of radiation

•Lung cancer, and leukemia rates increased 2 to 10 times in areas within 10 miles downwind

•Farmers received severe monetary losses due to deformities in livestock and crops after the disaster that are still occurring today.

Plants near TMI

-lack of chlorophyll -deformed leaf patterns -thick, flat, hollow stems -missing reproductive parts

-abnormally large

TMI dandelion leaf at right

Animals Nearby TMI

• Many insects disappeared for years.

–Bumble bees, carpenter bees, certain type caterpillars, or daddy-long-leg spiders

–Pheasants and hop toads have disappeared.