Re: [rad-sci-l] Chernobyl genetic disaster

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

	How come there were no genetic effects observed among the Japanese
A-bomb survivors, who were exposed to very much higher levels of
radiation? They claim that  animal studies show the effects they refer to;
what animal studies show such effects from low levels of radiation? Note
that no data are given on exposures. Why aren't these results described in
a paper in a scientific journal?

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu


On Wed, 1 Mar 2000, Michael C. Baker wrote:

> 
> 
> Post-Chernobyl genetic disaster in Belarus
> 
> BELARUS: March 1, 2000
> 
> MINSK - Post-Soviet Belarus has been plunged into a
> demographic disaster, with soaring levels of infertility
> and genetic changes 14 years after the Chernobyl
> disaster in neighbouring Ukraine, doctors said
> yesterday.
> 
> "Science cannot yet assess the consequences of the
> Chernobyl accident, but it is plain that a demographic
> catastrophe has occurred in Belarus," Vladislav Ostapenko,
> head of Belarus's radiation medicine institute, told a news
> conference.
> 
> "It is clear that we are seeing genetic changes, especially
> among those who were less than six years of age when
> subjected to radiation. These people are now starting
> families."
> 
> Belarus, a country of 10 million downwind from Chernobyl,
> bore the brunt of the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire in the
> power station's fourth reactor.
> 
> One quarter of its territory was subjected to severe
> contamination and tens of thousands of people were
> evacuated from their homes. Radiation from Chernobyl
> spread throughout most of Europe, but Belarus, Ukraine
> and Russia were worst hit and still devote huge resources
> to cleanup operations.
> 
> Ostapenko said that within seven years of the accident,
> mortality rates were outstripping birth rates.
> 
> Girls in affected areas had five times the normal rate of
> deformations in their reproductive systems and boys three
> times the norm. Each year, 2,500 births were recorded with
> genetic abnormalities and 500 pregnancies were terminated
> after testing.
> 
> Thousands of cases of thyroid cancer, rare in areas not
> subject to high radiation levels, have been recorded in
> Belarus's "risk zone", where a million people still live. High
> levels have now been observed among teenagers.
> 
> "We are seeing problems of infertility in this generation," he
> said. "Exactly the sort of observations we saw in animals
> subjected to similar radiation."
> 
> Belarus, Ostapenko said, needed more outside help to
> cope with the consequences. "It is impossible to say
> whether we are over the peak of the consequences of
> radioactive contamination or whether we are just on the
> threshold."
> 
> Gennady Lazyuk, head of a state institute for hereditary
> diseases, said the aftermath of the accident was
> compounded by ills associated with post-Soviet hardship.
> 
> "Of course this is a complex problem and includes low
> living standards, alcoholism and poor nutrition," he said.
> "Regardless, in contaminated areas the growth rate in
> genetic abnormalities is more than twice as high as in
> uncontaminated areas."
> 
> REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
> 
> 
> __________________________________
> 
> Michael C. Baker
> Environmental Technology Group (E-ET)
> Los Alamos National Laboratory
> Mail Stop J594, Los Alamos, NM 87545
> 
> mcbaker@lanl.gov
> 
> (505) 667-7334 (phone)
> (505) 665-8346 (fax)
> (505) 996-3519 (pager)
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