3 ms·

Article also says: > one worker on duty when the Russians seized control of the area said the convoy had kicked up clouds of radioactive dust while driving thr

Article also says: > one worker on duty when the Russians seized control of the area said the convoy had kicked up clouds of radioactive dust while driving through the highly toxic ‘Red Forest’ From what I know when you go with a tour guide in Chernobyl they don't drive through the 'Red Forest', and they say to not pickup anything and bring your own food and water. The problem with driving in the 'Red Forest' is that the movement of vehicles creates clouds of dust, that go on the vehicle itself and especially on the vehicle behind, and I believe that inhaling radioactive dust is terrible for your health

jaclaz 5y ago
Side note, the Chernobyl disaster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster happened in 1986, roughly 35 years ago, if it is not taught in schools in Russia (or talked about much), soldiers (and young people in general) may well have no knowledge of it, nor of the risks connected to the "Red Forest" outside specific (if any) directives from the military command.
gus_massa 5y ago
> inhaling radioactive dust is terrible for your health Yes, but the dose makes the poison. Also, the dose to increase the cancer rate in the next 10 years is much lower than the dose to make you sick in one months. See for example https://xkcd.com/radiation/ https://xkcd.com/radiation/ It's strange that they inhaled enough stuff to make them ill now like the title claims. Many of the death reported in Wikipedia are caused by damage to the thyroid by radioactive iodide, but it has a half life of only 8 days. There are other nasty things like radioactive strontium that accumulate in your bones, but the effect is slower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Cancer_assessments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Cancer_asse...

jaclaz 5y ago

Side note, the Chernobyl disaster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster happened in 1986, roughly 35 years ago, if it is not taught in schools in Russia (or talked about much), soldiers (and young people in general) may well have no knowledge of it, nor of the risks connected to the "Red Forest" outside specific (if any) directives from the military command.

gus_massa 5y ago

> inhaling radioactive dust is terrible for your health Yes, but the dose makes the poison. Also, the dose to increase the cancer rate in the next 10 years is much lower than the dose to make you sick in one months. See for example https://xkcd.com/radiation/ https://xkcd.com/radiation/ It's strange that they inhaled enough stuff to make them ill now like the title claims. Many of the death reported in Wikipedia are caused by damage to the thyroid by radioactive iodide, but it has a half life of only 8 days. There are other nasty things like radioactive strontium that accumulate in your bones, but the effect is slower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Cancer_assessments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Cancer_asse...