30 Years Since Chernobyl Contamination Remains A Silent Threat

GOMEL, BELARUS - APRIL 06: Patients recover from surgery in the throat, nose and ear ward of the oncology clinic on April 6, 2016 in Gomel, Belarus. Dr. Vladimir Tatchykhin, head of the ward, said his clinic has observed a steady increase in certain types of cancer, including cancer to the tongue, larynx, breast, skin, prostate, colon and rectum, since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster that spread radioactive fallout over the Gomel region. The clinic has also treated thousands of cases of thyroid cancer, the rate of which shot up dramatically after the Chernobyl accident and scientists agree has been caused by exposure to people aged under 18 at the time to radioactive iodine, which was among the cocktail of radioactive isotopes the Chernobyl blast spewed into the atmosphere. Gomel, the biggest city in southeastern Belarus, lies in a zone still contaminated with low levels of radioactive fallout and lies directly between two exclusion zones where authorities deem radiation levels too hazardous for people to return. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)