Environment

Chernobyl Legacy

Examining the aftermath of one of the terrible consequences of the greatest technological disaster of the 20th century - the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident

Paul Fusco

Paul Fusco Many evacuated families were resettled here. They say it is much harder to earn a good living here. They are much poorer. Kara Viny, Belarus. 1999. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Novinki Asylum. A hydrosyhalic child surrounded by the chaos of the asylum. Minsk, Belarus. 1997. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Children's Home. An attendant bathes a helpless four-year-old child with multiple sclerosis. Minsk, Belarus, 1997. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Minsk, Belarus. Children's Cancer Hospital. Vova, 15-years-old, lost his left leg to cancer a year before this photo was taken. He's been in the hospital ever since. his cancer has spread and the d (...)
Paul Fusco Two young boys find comfort in lying together in the summer sun. Novinki Asylum., Minsk, Belarus, 2000 © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco This potato field is near the Hot Zone, a 30 km zone around Chernobyl which was horrifically radiated. Maiskey Village, Belarus. 2000. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco This boy seems to live in a constant state of terror. Novinki Asylum, Minsk Belarus. 1997. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco These boys are unable to walk. They move by crawling, rolling, or sliding. Novinki Asylum, Minsk, Belarus 1997. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Children's Home. This hospital receives many of the most deformed babies soon after their births. Katya, 3 years old, was born with multiple sclerosis. Minsk, Belarus. 2000. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Children's Home. This hospital receives many of the most deformed babies soon after their births. Nurse Alla Komarova loves a helpless boy after she bathes him. The little boy. Zgenya, has been in (...)
Paul Fusco Intensive therapy Hemotology Unit at the Gonel regional Clinical hospital. Aleysa Beoia, 17 years old, has leukemia that was first diagnosed when she was 11 years old. Gonel, Belarus. 2000. © Paul Fusco | Magnum Photos
Paul Fusco Intensive therapy Hemotology Unit at the Gonel regional Clinical hospital. Aleysa Beoia, 17 years old, has leukemia that was first diagnosed when she was 11 years old. Although Aleysa was treated (...)

Chernobyl Legacy is a deeply powerful and moving book that portrays the terrible consequences of the greatest technological disaster of the 20th century – the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

On April 26, 1986, the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, exploded, leaving more than 56 thousand square kilometers in 19 regions contaminated. Almost seven million lives were, and continue to be, affected. The fallout caused numerous human sacrifices, undermined people’s health and led to irreversible environmental devastation, all of which persist today.

Chernobyl Legacy is a haunting document of the lives that were ruined, in particular, those of the unborn and young children, most of who have severe genetic disorders and a host of lethal cancers. The book has essays by Adi Roche, founder of the Chernobyl Children’s Project; Michael Douglas, United Nations Messenger for Peace, and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan.

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