I tend to not like stories that has to do with a room number or apartment number but it looks like some stories just have to come with this numbers so as to give specific explanation but they make me worry whenever I see such numbers attached to things that were mentioned in the story in reality. With that, let me go back to the year 1980, and that is where I will be bringing my case study from today.
This is a story of a building that would become the biggest nightmare of families. The building was one of the best as at that time, with elevator, and running water. On Gvardeytsiv Kantemirovtsiv street, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine (currently known as Mariyi Pryimachenko Street), Building Number 7 was the dream home for a lot of people since it was the newest block added to the blocks with modern facilities which weren't in the previous blocks. In this story, one apartment was of concern, Apartment 85.
The first family got into this new building and were enjoying their stay and the amenities in the house but then the fun was cut short when their first daughter who was 18 years old after a few months became very ill. The illness was serious and she was taken to the hospital were she was diagnosed with Leukemia, which is a cancer popularly known as the cancer of the blood but in reality it affect blood forming tissues including the bone marrow, and the lymphatic system.
This result in the excess production of abnormal white blood cells reducing the ability of the body to fight infection, transport oxygen, and clot blood. It is important to know that this cancer doesn't have a cure, and while the five years survival rate has increased in recent times to over 60%, in the 1980s, it was below 40%. So the daughter died.
In the middle of the horror and while they were trying to heal from the loss, their 16 year old son became sick and suffered from the same Leukemia and after a few months died. The family was very worried and just wanted to find a solution to what was going on but still in the middle of the runs, the mother also suffered the same fate and died of leukemia.
The family sort medical help and although cases of leukemia being hereditary is low, doctors claimed that the family suffered this case because of genetics but the family didn't believe it, so they packed out of the house with a belief that it would be the house that was cursed. Soon another resident took the now empty apartment, and soon their eldest son in 1987 became very ill and was diagnosed with leukemia. He passed on later and while the parents were burying their eldest son, their younger son was at the hospital fighting for his life as he suffered the same disease "Leukemia".
The father of the sons decided to file a case against the property owners and wanted to know what was the cause of this disease. He had gathered enough evidence and wanted to know what the cause was but the answers came very slow. It wasn't until 1989 that radiologist used radiation machine to test the radioactive reading of the building. During the first attempt, the radiation reading was so high from the front door that the radiologist had to go get a better machine to check the level.
The radiation level of the rooms the boys slept in were off the charts and it was from the wall that separated apartments 85 and 52 were the children slept. The entire building was quickly evacuated, and the was was platted with lead plate and immediately removed. The was was sent to Kyiv Institute for Nuclear Research for examination. Before and after the construction workers worked on the apartment, radiologist Nikolai Savchenko and his team took swabs to exclude the possibility of the presence of radioactive powder. After the removal, the apartment was safe but it had affected the lives of 17 people in total both those who lived in the apartment and people surrounding it.
From Kyiv Institute for Nuclear Research, scientists were able to extract an 8mm by 4mm small capsule containing Cesium 137 (CDC.CY3, CS137) which is highly radioactive releasing Gamma and Beta radiation 4 times more penetrable than X-rays and has a half life of 30 years. The serial number on the capsule was traced back to the 1970s found in a radioisotope level gauge.
This story serves as a reminder of the unseen dangers that lurk within our midst. It is important to be vigilant in safeguarding against potential hazards, lest we fall victim to the silent perils that lie beneath the surface.
Post Reference
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2023/11/the-building-that-gave-its-residents.html
https://www.iflscience.com/the-devastating-kramatorsk-radiological-accident-almost-killed-an-entire-apartment-block-67384
https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/leuks.html
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-leukemia-happens-could-it-run-in-your-family
https://www.curiousarchive.com/death-in-apartment-85-the-kramatorsk-radiological-accident/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/leukemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20374373
https://web.archive.org/web/20110406180734/http://www.vp.donetsk.ua/index_tema/2003/042802.html
https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Documents/Pubs/320-078_co60_fs.pdf
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-27/radioactive-capsule-lost-in-wa-emergency-public-health-warning/101901472
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/174482.pdf
Image Reference
Image 1 || stocksnap || Apartment windows Free Stock Image
Image 2 || Flickr || Leukemia Cells
Image 3 || Wikimedia || Strahler CS137.jpg