The Chernobyl disaster provided the field of medicine with some other valuable lessons as well.

"There are two big areas where eyes opened for the physicians on both sides of the World," Shapiro noted. "That radiation burns really attributed to prognosis and outcome of the patients with acute radiation poisoning, that radiation burns really kill patients, if they are extensive - even for the patients who underwent bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow transplant can't save [all] patients. So, selection of the patients for bone marrow transplant is really crucial."

In the United States, the drugs for preventive treatment and alleviation of the effects of radiation poisoning are being developed. Shapiro and her colleagues at FDA collaborate with pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions on that task.

Any technological disaster that takes human lives is a tragedy. But it can also teach lessons for the future if the information is shared and made accessible to experts all over the World.