Sick French try to prove Chernobyl caused ailments

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

Sick French try to prove Chernobyl caused ailments

  

PARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - A group of French people with thyroid 

ailments began legal moves on Thursday to try to prove they fell ill 

because France failed to warn citizens of the radioactive fallout of 

the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. 



The 53 plaintiffs, backed by two pressure groups, lodged a 

complaint against persons unknown at the Palace of Justice in 

Paris on grounds of alleged poisoning and associated counts. 



The technical step under French law means a judge must now 

examine the complaint, though the judge is not bound to order a 

criminal investigation. 



A similar attempt by a sole plaintiff failed last year on grounds that 

the person could not demonstrate a scientific link between the 

Chernobyl accident and the illness. 



The Chernobyl complex in Ukraine was the site of the world's worst 

nuclear accident in April 1986, when a reactor exploded and 

radiation spewed from its burning shell. The plant shut down for 

good in December. 



The plaintiffs allege that French authorities did nothing to alert 

citizens to the potential dangers from a cloud of radioactivity that 

drifted west from Chernobyl. 



"Too many things have been hidden. We were always told that the 

cloud had stopped at the border. We want the truth," said one of 

the plaintiffs, 50-year-old Jean-Claude Foures. 



The lawyer for the group, Christian Curtil, acknowledged that there 

was no absolute scientific link between the accident and his 

clients' illnesses, but said there was sufficient circumstantial 

evidence to warrant opening an investigation. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	

Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           

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Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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