Complex sentence: By one independent estimate, 40,000 individuals were left permanently disabled, maimed, or suffering from serious illness as a result of the disaster; a government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.
Split into simpler sentences: By one independent estimate, 40,000 individuals were left permanently disabled, maimed, or suffering from serious illness as a result of the disaster. While a government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.