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RE: 16th Anniversary of Chernobyl accident
Very good Maury!
Even stronger is the contemporary letter from the UNSCEAR Chairman to the UN Secretary General. Beyond that, there was the June 2001 Conference with the 'concerned countries' (seeking $$$ for Chernobyl 'damages' :-) with the WHO and other agencies, that confirmed the results. Confirmed again by the UN agencies in the Dec 2001/Jan 2002 report (Jan 25) reported in the Jan 6, 2002 Observer (UK) by Anthony Browne, and Jan 24 by Roger Bate. See these sources at:
http://cnts.wpi.edu/rsh/Docs/OtherDocs/UN-Chernobyl/index.html
The false premise of radiation hazards from nuclear power, 'dirty bombs, etc. is becoming ever more clear. :-) Let's remember that NO ONE in the public was injured or killed by CHERNOBYL, with NO evacuation, compared to the hysterical consequences claimed by the regulators and politicians!
Regards, Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: maury [mailto:maury@WEBTEXAS.COM]
Sent: Thu 21-Mar-02 1:12 AM
To: Radiation Safety
Cc:
Subject: 16th Anniversary of Chernobyl accident
The appearance of the dubious content of the UCS claims of lies by the
NRC reminds me that we are approaching the anniversary (26 April 1986)
of the Chernobyl accident. This means that the victim industry may be
expected to sally forth again in full bloom (as has the UCS). Thus, it
seems reasonable to provide once again the following UNSCEAR press
release which now is nearly two years old.
Maury Siskel maury@webtexas.com
===================
Vienna International Centre
PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Tel: (43-1) 26060 4666
Fax: (43-1) 26060 5899
Email: UNIS@unvienna.org
For information only - not an official document.
Press Release No: UNIS/UNSCEAR/1
Release Date: 6 June 2000
UNSCEAR Focuses on Chernobyl Accident in General
Assembly Report
VIENNA, 6 June (UN Information Centre) -- The United
Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation (UNSCEAR) has just approved its UNSCEAR
2000 Report to the General Assembly. This is a detailed
assessment of radiation sources and health effects. Particular
emphasis has been given to the evaluation of exposures and
health consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
The Chernobyl accident
According to the Committee's scientific assessments, there
have been about 1,800 cases of thyroid cancer in children
who were exposed at the time of the accident, and if the
current trend continues, there may be more cases during the
next decades. Apart from this increase, there is no evidence of
a major public health impact attributable to radiation
exposure fourteen years after the accident. There is no
scientific evidence of increases in overall cancer incidence or
mortality or in non-malignant disorders that could be related
to radiation exposure. The risk of leukaemia, one of the main
concerns owing to its short latency time, does not appear to
be elevated, not even among the recovery operation workers.
Although those most highly exposed individuals are at an
increased risk of radiation-associated effects, the great
majority of the population are not likely to experience serious
health consequences from radiation from the Chernobyl
ccident.
Cancer risks
The Committee has further assessed the cancer risks from
radiation exposures based on reviews of epidemiological
studies and results from fundamental radiological research.
The primary source of information remains the Life Span
Study of the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. It includes about 86,500 individuals of all
ages and both genders with good dosimetric data over a wide
range of doses. About 5% of the 7,800 deaths from cancer or
leukaemia in this group of exposed people is due to radiation.
For a population of all ages and both genders, the lifetime
risk of dying from cancer is about 9% for men and 13% for
women after an acute dose of 1,000 millisievert. For
comparison, the worldwide annual per caput dose is 2.4
millisievert from natural radiation.
Radiation sources
The greatest contribution to the world population's dose
comes from natural background radiation. The second largest
contribution comes from medical radiation procedures
Human activities cause further radiation exposure in addition
to the natural exposure, for instance contamination from
nuclear weapons testing and nuclear power production
contribute to the radiation exposure of the public.
Occupational radiation exposure is incurred by workers in
industry, medicine and research. The table summarizes
UNSCEAR's estimates of the annual worldwide average per
caput dose.
Average radiation doses at year 2000 from natural
and man-made sources of radiation
expressed in millisievert (mSv)
Source Worldwide average
annual effective dose
Natural background 2.4
Diagnostic medical examinations 0.4
Atmospheric nuclear testing 0.005
Chernobyl accident 0.002
Nuclear power production 0.002
For more information contact:
Dr Lars-Erik Holm
Chairman of UNSCEAR
Swedish Radiation Protection Institute
S-171 16 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Telephone: 0046-8-729 7110, Fax: 0046-8-729 7108
e-mail: ssi@ssi.se
Note for editors
UNSCEAR was established by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1955. It is composed of scientists from 21
nations and has previously published 13 major reports on the
levels and health effects of radiation. UNSCEAR's mandate
in the United Nations system is to assess and report levels and
effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Governments and
organizations throughout the world rely on the Committee's
estimates as the scientific basis for evaluating radiation risk,
establishing radiation protection and safety standards, and
regulating radiation sources.
The UNSCEAR 2000 Report has ten annexes that are
extensive scientific reviews and assessments on: exposures
from natural radiation sources; exposures to the public from
man-made sources of radiation; medical radiation exposures;
occupational radiation exposures; DNA repair and
mutagenesis; biological effects at low radiation doses;
combined effects of radiation and other agents; review of
radiation-associated cancer risks; and exposures and effects
of the Chernobyl accident.
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