Those around in the aftermath of the Chernobyl incident, what was it like? Was it a topic of daily discussion and how did it change how everyone went about their daily lives?

I've been fascinated by the Chernobyl meltdown for quite a while now. But, what gets lost in these major disasters is how normal people reacted to it and how it affected their lives following it. I know that they were finding contamination from the incident in livestock, milk, and crops across the European continent in its wake.

How did you and/or your family react to all this?