Powerful stuff. You might cite the ECRR2006 report on Chernobyl.: 'ECRR2006 Chernobyl-20 years on- Ed C. Busby and A.V.Yablokov (publ Gren Audit, Aberystwyth UK), which has the true scientific review of the situation with regard to the helath effects and the effects of living systems. There has been a huge cover up of the health effects by the IAEA and WHO. The latter signed an agreement in 1959 to leave research on health and radiation to the atomic scientists. This agreement is still in place.

Bravo to Paul Fusco ! and great appreciation... It seems there is sufficient data now to correlate such health damage as we witness in these photographs to radiation. If a person is un biased and sincerely concerned they will see the connection. But we do not need such an accident for such results. The on-going LOW levels of radiation released from the everyday operation of the many hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants world wide reduce the health of everyone. AS John Gofman said: "Any dose is an over doe.." The Atomic Energy Commsion in a l966 report "The Gentic Effects of Radiation " said: If the number of those affected is increased there would come a crucial point, or threshold, where the slack could no longer be taken up. The genetic load might increase to the point where the species as a whole would degenerate and fade towards extinction - a sort of radical radiation sickness. Nevertheless the AEC went ahead and set a standard of how many rems or rads were acceptable per person per year. John Gofman commented on this: Licensing a nuclear power plant is, in my view, licensing random, premeditated murder. fade towards extinction - a sort of " radical radiation sickness".

Dear Paul, I'm Leonid, I helped you with translation on your trip to the Chernobyl area in Belarus in 1997. Do you remember me? Thank you for this great, emotional, humbling work. Leonid Levin

Poor people, no one diserves something like that =( stuff like this just proves that there is no god, what kind of god would let horrible things like this happen

My uncle, who is a retired civil engineer of several large cities, could not watch this film to the end! Those who say nuclear power is the solution to global warming should see these people. I promised Dr. Radha Roy, professor of nuclear physics emeritus, on his death bed riddled with cancer, I would try to stop nuclear pollution. He told me how it would go and was correct. It was the Three Mile Island partial meltdown that provided the impetus for the Roy Process which will reduce high level nuclear waste to zero radioactivity and produce electricity. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0308/S00219.htm

dear Paul I’m Italian and recently got a game called stalker and also watched a documentary about the Chernobyl accident recently so decided to do an online search i found this website and was deeply saddened that these things are not more in the eye of the public to make them aware in the dangers of nuclear radiation \ power I have deep respect for you and the work you are doing and all thoughts involved But I have to wonder why you allow fools to post things like "look at all those yummy Jews" is it to show how ignorant people are or are there other reasons ? In closing id like to say keep up the awesome work as there are thoughts out there that understand

This has been a real eye opener for me.. after playing The Game S.T.A.L.k.E.R i found myself doing sum research and only recently learned that it as based on a true story.. i cant believe i didnt know about it.. Thanx too the game i have learnt allot about the aftereffects and dangers of radiation.. Thanx for this awsome info :)

I was reading over some of the comments, and the fact that some people had no idea as to what the disaster actually was and just looked it up because of a video game, to me, is disgusting. I recently heard of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R but I did not play it, however, due to how it's loosely based the movie. I did, however, begin looking into it because I was genuinely interested in what had occurred since I knew so little. I couldn't help but be moved by this work and I feel absolutely terrible for all the families affected by the disaster.

I was speechless and crying uncontrollably after i watched this photo documentary. I'm a survivor of the Chernobyl disaster. I was only 3 when it happened and unfortunately for me I lived in Belarus at the time and was highly exposed to the radiation. I developed all sorts of medical problems as a result, but my family was lucky enough to have the opportunity to move to the US. My health problems are now very much under control. I have extreme survivor's guilt. I look at these children and think "this could have been me.....this should be me". I feel awful that i was fortunate enough to get the appropriate medical help and these children just aren't that fortunate. Everyone one of them deserves the most this world has to offer. My love, prayers and support go out to every person affected by this unfathomable disaster. ( If our tears do not lead us to act then we have lost the reason of our humanity, which is compassion)

Men without God caused this. Men under God's direction are able to bring restoration. Not by man's power, but by God's power, but men yielded and submitted to God being used by Him. Miracles DO still exist. I am believing God for the healing of the land, the healing of bodies and the healing of spirits in the days to come. I have seen miracles. I believe God's word that the glory of God will one day "cover the whole earth as the waters cover the seas." All things are possible to him who believes. Do you believe it is possible? I do and will uphold these dear people in prayer until it happens and I will do even more if possible.

I live 25 miles from a place called Faslane, google it.

My son was born in the UK just days after the Chernobyl Disaster. I remember my mother-in-law telling me not to take the baby outside in the pushchair because of the cloud of radiation that spread across Europe. It's soon to be his 21st Birthday and graduating from University. His whole life ahead of him. The photographs and commentary in the thumbnails are devastating. Of course I've watched all the documentaries, but I have never seen anything like the deformed children and teenagers shown here. The result of a tragedy that should never have happened. God help their families.

Powerful, moving, and shocking. The world needs to see these pictures, and hear the victim's stories. The degradation of human life from this disaster is and should be unacceptable to humans everywhere. These children deserve life just as much as any other. If there is any hope, may it be with them. Thankyou for this eye-opening exploration of the inhumanity we create from damnable "technology." There were things humans were not meant to toy with.

I learned about lynching in English through a powerpoint presentation that my teacher put together that resembled this one. One lady had a son who became a victim of a lynching because he had allegedly whistled at a white woman in the street. Men came, brought him to the woods, and beat his face to the point that it couldn't be recognized as human. The mother demanded that his grave be open-casket so that people could see the effects of race hate. In an interview, she said that what happened to her son was the personification of race hate. This photo-essay is like the open casket for the disaster of Chernobyl, and the effects are the personification of malevolent human curiosity.

Why do we need power so much, that we're willing to risk the destruction, not of just some human life and some ecosystems, but of the entire world and all life on it? Oh, this doesn't happen often, sure. You put one bullet in gun, spin cylinder and pull the trigger. Death doesn't happen often, no, and it is exciting. Why take such risks? What if Chernobyl is the first sequence of reaction that destroys all human life? And now this talk of nuclear missles, as if tests had not done enough damage. Science is to help mankind, know mankind, but science is mankind, they seek foolishness of mankind and to be seen as god to mankind. If these men had any knowledge they would laugh at political system. If only they study philosophy instead.

As someone who has always enjoyed photgraphy, I am a firm believer that one picture can tell a thousand words. I knew very little about Chernobyl before today, and we were required to research it for a radiological class. Your photos were very touching, and your essay very informative. I feel that I should have known more about this all along, and that maybe the people affected by Chernobyl have been swept under the rug, so to speak. It is truly very sad. Thank you for sharing your photos and essay; it is very educational and touching. This has definetly changed me.

Chernobyl was first shown to me when I was about...12, maybe 13. I am 16 now, and have always been interested in Chernobyl and any other type of Nuclear disaster or just anything Nuclear. I had watched a documentary in Chemistry last year about both Chernobyl and Three-Mile Island, but nothing that was remotely close to what was shown in this. Unlike others, I bought the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. because I knew about Chernobyl. It is a fun game, I give it that, and it shows what might happen if it occurs a second time. It even has the deformations that were shown here, with a certain type of mutant they had in there. It sounds grotesque and sadistic, but it is also the raw truth. I was touched by this, and not much really touches me nowadays. I agree with a previous poster that Emos are irritating. They say they have it so bad off, "Oh, my parents won't buy me my favorite pants!!" "My girlfriend just broke up with me, I'm going to cut myself!" and "Why doesn't anyone understand me?! I will show them with my death." They are so materialistic, and have no idea what really goes on in their world. I suffer with one first hand, as my step-brother is one. I find razor blades lying in his room, and he listens to that bull that is Screamo, or just emo junk. They are always complaining about things that EVERYONE goes through, and normal people just go on with life. I want to copy this documentary and send it to every emo person, just to show them that the world doesn't revolve around them, and the they should take their heads out of their asses and see what kind of bull they pull. Thank you for this, Paul. ~Brian

From this photo essay, take the shock in your reaction and carry it toward taking action, to ensure it is not us who suffer next time at the hands of nuclear power 'mistakes.' Do all you can, write to the politicians, tell everyone you know, send them a link to this work, join a protest group. It is up to us. Hesitate in your action and the next power plants could be approved before you know it, find out all you can and tell those who make the decisions about the potential consequences.

Felicidades por este gran trabajo Paul.

Your piece nearly brought me to tears. The suffering that this accident caused lives on, but amid the horror you see the kindness of those who care for the children and the sick. Thank you for producing this.

Nice pictures of Chernobyl and the victims in Belarus, but I was unhappy that the commentator claimed that nuclear power is unhealthy and should be stopped at all costs. Safety standards since the Chernobyl accident have greatly improved and nuclear plants are no longers being run by negligent Soviet officials. I won't say that another nuclear accident on the scale of Chernobyl is impossible, but indicting a proven cost-effective form of energy because of very improbable losses while ignoring the benefits is not smart decision-making. Today one of the greatest health and environmental hazards is global warming. Measuring the loss of life from indirect contamination from the Chernobyl disaster is a highly variable task. It is probably even more so for global warming because the damage is spread out uniformly around the globe. And the pollutants are growing. It is impossible to measure the victims, both through disease and climate change, that results from it. So to lash out against nuclear power, the only form of power that is both economically viable and doesn't pollute the environment, is in a sense, replacing one demon with another that is far harder to see. It is easy to feel sympathy for the victims of Chernobyl. It is hard to imagine the worldwide damage that global warming can cause. For these reasons, today's lawmakers are rightly making the decision to employ the use of nuclear power. And they are doing it with safety in mind.

I have been researching Chernobyl for a little while now. I happen to come across your photo essay and I just want to tell you it was very touching. we find many pictures showing the dead town and aftermath of the buildings. but you really went to a personal level. showing the lives a human beings who have been touched by this horrible event. I think your statement here is amazing and hope that many eyes see it as well. my heart goes out to each person that has suffered this tragedy.

why the hell do we have nucular anythig all that is going to is lead to are dustruction. i mean look we have nucular bombs for what to show that we have them dont mess with us or we might use them. look at these pics. they show alot of kids diying and kids that are suffering for what this stuff dose to them i dont think we sould risk haveing nucular power it might end up just like this i mean u could be the one that has these defects think about that.

Every time I read, watch or listen to something like this (whether on Chernobyl or a similar subject), I feel as if my heart's dropped from my chest. So much pain and suffering ... and in hindsight, most of it is preventable, and that makes it so much worse. I live in Canada, and as of right now, I face none of the horrors seen in so many other parts of the world. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if I did. Perhaps I am less able to sympathize with those who live these things - and I'm not sure whether I wish to be able to. Can one who has never felt anything like this ever empathize, ever really reach out? Are we not behind a wall, no matter how much we may want to be on the other side? I see these pictures and wish I could hold these children, rock them, care for them, sing to them, love them ... I want to make them feel better; I want to make the pain go away. But how far can I go, without knowing what it is like? I echo the many comments that cry "society has its priorities out of order!" I agree. There are so many things which need not even be mentioned. And yet, if we covered our newspapers and newscasts and radio shows with reports of these horrors day after day ... would we care, after a while? Would we open our hearts to all of this and give all we have, or would we become jaded and unseeing? Would we turn a blind eye, citing "it's too far away - it doesn't affect us"? Would we reach out? How far can we reach? How much can we actually change, and how much do we really want to? As to nuclear energy - apart from its waste, it's clean and relatively safe. The CANDU reactors, used in several countries, have very good safety records ... we are the world's prime producer of uranium ... and yet you look at this and wonder if it's worth it. Not all reactors are the same, but they're all deadly - can we not find an even better way? I think of the radioactive waste we are thinking of storing in the Canadian Shield, and wonder about the children of my future children, and their children. ... But nothing fills the hole, no matter how much we talk, and these children still die. Do they know they die? Do they know they live? Do they know we care? I hope they have some inkling of how much we love them, and how much we're sorry, even 21 years after the fact.