BOOK NOTES

New scientific study of Chornobyl detailed re-examination of accident

"The Chornobyl Accident: A Comprehensive Risk Assessment" by George J. Vargo. Columbus: Batelle Press, 2000. 262 pp. $34.95, cloth.

"The Chornobyl Accident: A Comprehensive Risk Assessment," edited by George J. Vargo, not only offers the reader a detailed re-examination of the accident, but an assessment and interpretation of various effects of the accident, such as those upon the environment, people and economy of the region surrounding the recently shut-down nuclear power plant as well.

The 262-page work consists, for the most part, of an in-depth discussion of the Chornobyl accident by a group of Ukrainian and Russian scientists who have had the benefit of working with the issue over the last decade and a half. Their scientific background shines through in the bulk of the text, which takes an explanatory route, rather than an analytical one, in presenting the accident.

For example, the authors discuss different details of the explosion in devoting a section to the "Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Release," in addition to allotting a large chapter to a study of the shelter built to contain further nuclear contamination, and one to a review of radioactive waste management.

Furthermore, the book's text is supplemented by a rich cache of maps, charts and graphs, all of which crystallize the aforementioned textual information.

This work was published by Battelle Press, which can be reached by phone at 800-451-3543; by e-mail at press@battelle.org; or via the website at www.battelle.org.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 12, 2001, No. 32, Vol. LXIX

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