[ RadSafe ] The Sun reports Chernobyl disaster killed more than 1, 000 British babies

[Dawson, Fred Mr]

The Sun reports -

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006130570,00.html

THE Chernobyl disaster killed more than 1,000 British babies, an expert
claimed yesterday. 
The radioactive "black rain" that fell over certain parts of the UK
between 1986 and 1989 caused a ten per cent rise in infant death rates.
Areas prone to frequent showers - the north west, west Midlands,
Scottish Highlands, Cumbria and Wales - were worst hit.
The 'black rain' boosted the risk of deadly respiratory problems and
certain cancers in the vulnerable tots, it is thought.
The claims were made yesterday by ex-Cambridge University statistician
John Urquhart, who tracked health records and Met Office reports from
the time.

Mr Urquhart, who studied 50,000 infant deaths in 11 areas from 1983 to
1992, said: "The long term trend of infant mortality was declining at
about four per cent per year, but that was interrupted by Chernobyl." 

It is almost 20 years since the Ukrainian reactor exploded in April
1986.
Radioactive clouds crossed Scandinavia and France before reaching here.
When they mixed with rain clouds 'black rain' fell.
Bradford, Leicester, Merseyside, Bristol and Northern Ireland all showed
sharp increases in infant mortalities, said Mr Urquhart.
He told the Nuclear Free Local Authorities conference in London: "People
have been trundling along for 50 years saying radiation isn't dangerous.
These observations pose a challenge to the scientific establishment." 


Fred Dawson
Health Physics Assistant Director & Team Leader
Directorate of Safety & Claims
6-D-30 MOD Main Building
Whitehall, LONDON  SW1A 2HB
 
phone   +44 (0)20 7807 0215
mobile   +44 (0)7 973 169 339
email     dsc-hpad at mod.uk
http://www.mod.uk/dsc/
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