A botched reactor safety test set off the worst nuclear disaster in history in 1986 . About 5 million people remain in what have been termed 'contaminated territories ' Kathy Ryan : `` People are still being affected by the social and economic fallout . '' And yet , those areas have experienced nowhere near the alienation and economic impact of much of Belarus and Ukraine . The Japanese government has said it will pay for a clean-up of up to $US1 billion ($A1.27 billion) over 30 years.
A botched reactor safety test set off the worst nuclear disaster in history in 1986 . About 5 million people remain in what have been termed 'contaminated territories ' Kathy Ryan : `` People are still being affected by the social and economic fallout . '' The Japanese government has said it will pay for a clean-up of up to $US1 billion ($A1.27 billion) over 30 years.