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The 1986 nuclear power plant explosion in Chernobyl, Ukraine impelled massive amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Around 530,000 recovery operation workers, such as firefighter, called " Liquidators" , went into action to put out the fires and clean up the toxic radioactive mess. These liquidators, who worked between 1986 to 1990, were exposed to high levels of radiations, on average around 8000 to 16000 millisievert (mSv) or the equivalent of 80,000 to 160,000 chest X-rays, according to the WHO. A liquidator in a glass mask and protective clothing, pushed a baby in a carriage who was recovered abandoned during the cleanup of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the village of Tatsenki. The liquidator found the baby when he was measuring the radioactive radiation levels. The people who survived radiation sickness from Chernobyl took years to recover, and many of them developed cataracts because the radiation damaged the eye lenses, according to the WHO. The Chernobyl survivors had long term consequences of the radiation exposure resulting in cancer. Estimated report says that around 270,000 people in Ukraine, Russia who wouldn't have otherwise developed cancers did developed radioactive illness which mainly manifested as thyroid cancer, directly caused by radioactive particles of iodine-131 released by the explosion. The plant, the ghost towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl and the surrounding land makeup a 1000 square mile " exclusion zone " , which is restricted to nearly everyone except for scientists and government officials. Despite the dangers several people returned to their homes shortly after the disaster, with some sharing their stories with news sources such as the BBC, CNN and the Guardian. And in 2011, Ukraine opened up the area to tourists waiting to see the after effects of the disaster.
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