In this second part in the three-part series Nature Comes Back, we learn more about the impact that the devastating accident at the nuclear power plant had upon the surrounding areas.
By building trust, the team was able to work with the Russian government to gain behind-the-scenes access to the area. Watch as the team rolls back the curtain with a group of panelists, including naturalists, scientists, and historians to learn the effects that Chernobyl had on nature, nuclear science, US / Soviet relations and the people who work there and call Chernobyl home.
The photos and video in this documentary were taken by SCETV, in partnership with the University of South Carolina, and will take you to an area devastated by an accident of catastrophic proportions. Rudy Mancke, Sherry Beasley and Allen Sharpe of ETV help to capture the heart of the area. USC had committed to help, and when this was recognized, they were more forthcoming.
Side Notes
- Rudy Mancke (1945 – 2023) - South Carolina Hall of Fame. A look at the life and legacy of Rudy Mancke.
- Charles Bierbauer (1942 – 2025)-past president of the White House Correspondents' Association and longtime CNN Correspondent. Charles J. Bierbauer Obituary - University of South Carolina.
- Timothy Mosseau - Biological Sciences; Earth Ocean and Environment, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.
- Gordon B. Smith - Distinguished Professor Emeritus Political Science.
- Eduardo B. Farfan is a professor of Nuclear Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been at Kennesaw State University since 2014. He was born in La Paz Bolivia and completed his undergraduate studies in Nuclear Physics at the Belorussian State University in Minsk, Belarus.
- Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991.
- Radioecology - is the branch of ecology concerning the presence of radioactivity in Earth’s ecosystems. Investigations in radioecology include field sampling, experimental field and laboratory procedures, and the development of environmentally predictive simulation models in an attempt to understand the migration methods of radioactive material throughout the environment. The practice consists of techniques from the general sciences of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and ecology, coupled with applications in radiation protection. Radioecological studies provide the necessary data for dose estimation and risk assessment regarding radioactive pollution and its effects on human and environmental health.
- View the entire Chernobyl Collection.
