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16457 
Journal Article 
Iodide prophylaxis in Poland after the Chernobyl reactor accident: benefits and risks 
Nauman, J; Wolff, J 
1993 
1 
American Journal of Medicine
ISSN: 0002-9343
EISSN: 1555-7162 
94 
5 
524-532 
English 
8498398 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center. #The accident at the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Power Station took place on April 26, 1986, at 1:23 am. Like the accident at Three Mile Island No. 2, the immediate cause was operator error, but the much more serious consequences in the Ukraine can be ascribed to reactor design. Two explosions occurred, the first due to steam and a second one due to hydrogen. The explosions expelled fission products and fuel elements to the exterior that accumulated in a cloud reaching to approximately 7000 m and centered at approximately 4,500 m. Because the graphite ignited, there was a second, more prolonged but less intense, release over a 9- to 10-day period that peaked on May 6, 1986, and dropped sharply on May11 as the fire was extinguished. The following volatile elements, as well as the noble gases xenon and krypton, constituted the most abundant released material: iodine, cesium, and tellurium. In this review, we will deal with iodine isotopes as they affected Poland.