[ RadSafe ] Chernobyl Radiation Killed Nearly One Million People: New Book]]

[Maury Siskel]

This paper by Dr. Jaworowski deserves much wider circulation. The 
Abstract and part of the Intrduction follow below. Sorry for the delay 
due my med problems.
Best,
Maury&Dog [Maury Siskel maurysis at peoplepc.com]
==========================

Dose-Response, X:xxx-xxx, 2010
Formerly Nonlinearity in Biology, Toxicology, and Medicine
Copyright © 2010 University of Massachusetts
ISSN: 1559-3258
DOI: 10.2203/dose-response.09-029.Jaworowski


OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER AND LNT
Zbigniew Jaworowski  Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, Ul.
Konwaliowa 7, 03-194 Warsaw, Poland


OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER AND LNT
Zbigniew Jaworowski  Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, Ul.
Konwaliowa 7, 03-194 Warsaw, Poland
 The Chernobyl accident was probably the worst possible catastrophe of 
a nuclear power station. It was the only such catastrophe since the 
advent of nuclear power 55 years
ago. It resulted in a total meltdown of the reactor core, a vast 
emission of radionuclides, and early deaths of only 31 persons. Its 
enormous political, economic, social and psychological impact was mainly 
due to deeply rooted fear of radiation induced by the linear 
nonthreshold hypothesis (LNT) assumption. It was a historic event that 
provided invaluable lessons for nuclear industry and risk philosophy. 
One of them is demonstration that counted per electricity units 
produced, early Chernobyl fatalities amounted to 0.86 death/GWeyear), 
and they were 47 times lower than from hydroelectric stations (~40 
deaths/GWeyear). The accident demonstrated that using the LNT assumption 
as a basis for protection measures and radiation dose limitations was 
counterproductive, and lead to sufferings and pauperization of millions 
of inhabitants of contaminated areas. The projections of thousands of 
late cancer deaths based on LNT, are in conflict with observations that 
in comparison
with general population of Russia, a 15% to 30% deficit of solid cancer 
mortality was found among the Russian emergency workers, and a 5% 
deficit solid cancer incidence
among the population of most contaminated areas.
Keywords: Chernobyl, irradiation, LNT, health effects, remedial 
measures, social consequences

INTRODUCTION
Ten days after two steam and hydrogen explosions blew up the Chernobyl 
nuclear reactor the fire that melted its core died out spontaneously. 
But the drama of this catastrophe still flourishes, nourished by 
politics, authorities, media and interest groups of ecologists, 
charitable organizations and scientists. It lives in the collective 
memory of the world
and propagates real health, social and economic harm to millions of 
people in Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine. It is exploited in attempts 
to strangle development of atomic energy, the cleanest, safest and 
practically inexhaustible means to meet the worlds energy needs. The 
world's uranium resources alone will suffice for the next 470,000 years 
(IAEA 2008). Chernobyl was a indeed a historic event, but it is the only 
nuclear power station disaster that ever resulted in an occupational 
death toll, albeit a
comparatively small one. A vast environmental dispersion of 
radioactivity occurred that did not cause any scientifically confirmed 
fatalities in the ....


Address correspondence to Zbigniew Jaworowski, Central Laboratory for 
Radiological
Protection, Ul. Konwaliowa 7, 03-194 Warsaw, Poland. Voice: 
+48-22-754-4434; fax +48-22-711-
7147, jaworo at clor.waw.pl


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