Worst Effects of Chernobyl To Come

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Numbers who died from the report (2nd paragraph) are as follows:

"Three people were killed in the explosion on April 26, 1986, and 28 
emergency workers died within the first three months, the report 
said. It gave no other death toll, but noted that 106 of the other 
emergency workers that were first on the scene also were 
diagnosed with acute radiation syndrome."

Worst Effects of Chernobyl To Come

GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations released a new assessment of 
the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown Tuesday, saying the worst 
health consequences for millions of people may be yet to come. 

``At least 100 times as much radiation was released by this 
accident as by the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and 
Nagasaki combined'' at the end of World War II, said a 32-page 
booklet released to mark the 14th anniversary of the disaster. 

Three people were killed in the explosion on April 26, 1986, and 28 
emergency workers died within the first three months, the report 
said. It gave no other death toll, but noted that 106 of the other 
emergency workers that were first on the scene also were 
diagnosed with acute radiation syndrome. 

And, the report said, a total of 600,000 emergency workers who 
helped in the cleanup and later built a cover to seal the destroyed 
reactor ``must be constantly monitored for the effects of exposure 
to radiation.'' 

The booklet, published by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs, said the three countries most affected by the 
radiation - Belarus, Ukraine and Russia - continue to pay the price. 

``Chernobyl is a word we would all like to erase from our memory,'' 
said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a foreword. 

But, Annan added, ``more than 7 million of our fellow human beings 
do not have the luxury of forgetting. They are still suffering, 
everyday, as a result of what happened.'' He said the exact number 
of victims may never be known, but that 3 million children require 
treatment and ``many will die prematurely.'' 

``Not until 2016, at the earliest, will be known the full number of 
those likely to develop serious medical conditions'' because of 
delayed reactions to radiation exposure, he said. 

Annan said response to a U.N. appeal launched three years ago 
had fallen so short that the original list of 60 projects had been 
shortened to the nine most urgent. 

``These nine projects could, if implemented, make a vital difference 
to the lives of many people,'' Annan said in appealing for 
governments and institutions to contribute $9.5 million. 

The projects include modernization of a hospital, creation of a 
network of centers to treat children and decontamination of 
schools, kindergartens and hospitals in Belarus. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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