The Scientific Facts on the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident were reported in a leading scientific consensus report produced in 2006 by the UN Chernobyl Forum: “Chernobyl’s legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts
The Digest produced by GreenFacts is a faithful summary of this report written in an accessible language:
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm
In brief, confusion about the impact of the accident has given rise to highly exaggerated claims that tens or even hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of the accident. In fact, says the report, a much smaller death toll can be directly attributable to Chernobyl radiation. Twenty-eight emergency workers died from acute radiation syndrome, 15 patients died from thyroid cancer, and it is roughly estimated that the total number of deaths from cancers caused by Chernobyl may reach 4000 among the 600 000 people having received the greastest exposures.
