fallout

noun ! Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fallout at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

1. The event of small airborne particles falling to the ground in significant quantities as a result of major industrial activity, volcano eruption, sandstorm, nuclear explosion, etc.
2. The particles themselves.

   On 26 April 1986 the reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant located in the Soviet Union near Pripyat in Ukraine exploded. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area.

3. A negative side effect; an undesirable or unexpected consequence.

   Psychological fallout in the shadow of terrorism