It was full of holes, with rain water was collecting inside and birds were flying in and out spreading the contaminated materials. At the site, Jackson was reported to have seen an engineer with a Geiger counter taking measurements which showed extremely alarming levels of radiation. Ukrainians living in the area, continue to complain about the lingering effects of the radiation which still shows in produce from the area. The explosion spread radiation over a large area including some of the premium Ukrainian and Russian farmland. Despite an increase in birth defects, it's impossible to determine just how many children have been directly and indirectly damaged as a result of the accident.
Experts caution the health effects directly caused by radiation are smaller than people believe.
However, the potential of future disasters continues to haunt developing and developed countries as the maintenance of older reactors is often inadequate as cash strapped governments search for ways to cut costs.