Slovakia marks 40 years since Chernobyl disaster with revelations about limited health impact

Forty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Slovak health officials have revealed that radiation levels on Slovak territory remained well below the threshold that could cause immediate harm to human health. Only 2,341 agricultural workers received iodine tablets as a precautionary measure during the crisis. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded on April 26, 1986, releasing radioactive material across much of Europe and forcing mass evacuations in the immediate vicinity of the plant. While the disaster caused widespread fear across Central Europe, experts now say the psychological and social damage in Czechoslovakia far exceeded the actual health risks from radiation exposure.