The Truth About Chernobyl The Truth About Chernobyl The Truth About Chernobyl is a 1991 book by Grigori Medvedev. Medvedev served as deputy chief engineer at the No. 1 reactor unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the 1970s. At the time of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, Medvedev was deputy director of the main industrial department in the Soviet Ministry of Energy dealing with the construction of nuclear power stations. Since Medvedev knew the Chernobyl plant well, he was sent back as a special investigator immediately after the 1986 catastrophe. In his book, Medvedev provides extensive first-hand testimony, based on many interviews,
Effects of the Chernobyl disaster and slowed in 2005. The large increase in incidence of thyroid cancer happened amongst individuals who were adolescents and young children living during the time of the accident, and residing in the most contaminated areas of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. High levels of radioactive iodine were released in the environment from the Chernobyl reactor after the accident, and accumulated in pastures which were eaten by cows. The milk was later consumed by children who already had an iodine deficient diet, therefore causing more of the radioactive iodine to be accumulated. Radioactive iodine has a short half-life, 8.02 days,