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Living Under the Cloud

Living Under the Cloud

This inside look at the nuclear accident at Chernobyl is as disturbing a film as anyone will ever see. The effects of the 1986 disaster will be with the world for generations as radioactive particles carried across boundaries by wind and water, flora and fauna continue to contaminate the water, soil, food chain, and gene pool.

Dr. Vladimir Chernousenko, dying from the exposure he received as scientific director of the clean-up team, has devoted his life to telling the truth of what happened at Chernobyl. He tells of the former U.S.S.R.'s inadequate attempts to deal with the situation. Videotaped recordings provided by Dr. Chernousenko show the inhumane suicide missions that many young soldiers, miners, and medical workers were sent to perform to rid the plant of radioactive debris. All who entered the 30 kilometer 'dead zone' are either dead or dying from radiation sickness.

Reports coming out of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia indicate that the contamination of human and natural systems is worse than originally reported. Cancer, especially thyroid, is rampant; birth defects, animals dying, and radiation related illnesses are widespread as is the contamination of the food chain and environment.

The sarcophagus built to contain further radioactive contamination is crumbling. And the breakup of the U.S.S.R. has not improved the situation. The fragile economy cannot afford the expense that a massive cleanup would cost, and the emerging nations all require power to survive, power supplied by other Chernobyl-like reactors. The area surrounding Chernobyl will be uninhabitable for 25,000 years.

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