Facts We May Not Know About Chernobyl Disaster

Those That Fought

When the Chernobyl nuclear reactor began to melt down, over 600,000 volunteered to be a part of the rescue efforts. These people came to be known as the liquidators, as their job was (aptly) to liquidate the nuclear plants fourth reactor and prevent further radiation damage caused by it. Most of these people were helping with little to no protection from the enormous amounts of radiation that was seeping out of the plant, so over 4% of these workers ended up dying while another 12% became disabled.

Many of these were the first responding firefighters in the area. A statue was erected in their honor in Chernobyl.