I am not sure about everything that was mentioned in this article, however I do know that Chernobyl - contrary to public perception - did not cause any public health problems in Poland or Germany, the first being only 300 km away from ground zero.
No increase in leukemia or thyroid cancer or any other form of cancer anywhere along the track of the radioactive cloud.
The only cancer cases that developed - and each of these would have been preventable with Iodide treatment and screening of agricultural products- were in some areas of the former Soviet Union, where a) children did not get treated with potassium iodide and b) were given milk from cows that grazed on contaminated soil for a long time.
This can all be read in WHO publications.
As superfrozo said... put away the newspapers, magazines et cetera and grab a science publication.