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Anatoliy Rasskazov, staff photographer at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, was the first person to photograph the explosion of the fourth reactor UNIAN Much is still unknown about the lasting health effects of the April 26, 1986, explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Anatoliy Rasskazov, staff photographer at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, was the first person to photograph the explosion of the fourth reactor [1] that took place on April 26, 1986, during an experiment.

Fearing panic, the Soviet government kept it secret for two days. By then, the whole population of the nearby town of Prypyat – with 51,000 people – had been evacuated because of deadly levels of radiation, which continued to spew into the atmosphere. Later, people from a 30-kilometer zone were evacuated.

Although only two persons died on the day of the accident, and 4,000 people are officially recognized as victims, the Greenpeace environmental group believes at least 200,000 people died of radiation-related illnesses. Countless others suffer from diseases blamed on the accident, primarily blood disorders and cancers. There are many ongoing debates over long-term effects of the accident.

A modern view of the fourth reactor [2] shows the concrete shell or “the sarcophagus.” It will be replaced by a newer, radiation-containing $1 billion structure by 2012.

Although the 30-kilometer zone around Chornobyl [3] remains too polluted for living. Valentyna Kolinko [4] is among the residents, living in the heart of Chornobyl town.