Chernobyl toll disputed
The week's news at a glance.
Kiev, Ukraine
More than 90,000 people eventually will die of cancer caused by radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Greenpeace said this week. That figure is many times higher than the 4,000 deaths predicted by a U.N. report released last year. The earlier report, by the International Atomic Energy Agency and other U.N. bodies, said that so far, only 56 deaths were directly attributable to the nuclear reactor meltdown. But Greenpeace said its report is based on newer health studies and more detailed demographic data. “It is appalling that the IAEA is whitewashing the impacts of the most serious nuclear accident in human history,” said Ivan Blokov of Russian Greenpeace.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published