Nuclear Radiation Accident

source：https://www.c2st.org/news/2013/01/policy-cost-pose-challenges-future-nuclear-energy

Radiation particularly associated with nuclear medicine and the use of nuclear energy, along with X-rays, is 'ionizing' radiation, which means that the radiation has sufficient energy to interact with matter, especially the human body, and produce ions, i.e. it can eject an electron from an atom (Nuclear Radiation and Health Effects, 2015). A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, large radioactivity release to the environment, or reactor core melt."(Wikipedia, 2015)

Speaking of nuclear and radiation accident, it is hard not to mention the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially the Ukrainian SSR). It was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe(Wikipedia, 2015). As Ukraine officially announced in 1992, more than 7000 people died in the that accident.

source：http://blogs.lt.vt.edu/chargers/2013/12/09/the-disaster-that-is-chernobyl/

Apart from death, Nuclear Radiation Accident also will cause damage to environment. In Chernobyl disaster, the Republic of Belarus lost 20% of its agricultural land. Nearly 2.2 million people had to leave their home and hundreds of towns became empty. Within 7 kilometers from the plant, forest of 1000 hectors gradually died. Outside 30 kilometers, where is so called ‘safe area’, the number of cancer patients and abnormal livestock increased sharply. Even 80 km outside from the plant, 20% of the new borned pigs were found had abnormal eyes. 10 years later, the nuclear radiation still threatened about 8000000 lives’ health in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

Reference
World Nuclear Association 2015, Nuclear Radiation and Health Effects , accessed 22 May 2015,<http://www.world-nuclear.org>