Re: [Know_Nukes] Re: Chernobyl remembered - article

["Jim Hoerner" <jim_hoerner@HOTMAIL.COM>]

>From: Norman Cohen <ncohen12@comcast.net>



>Hi Maury,

>

>     The number of people who died and continue to die from Chernobyl is

>open to speculation. I've seen numbers on radsafe ranging from 0 to 100

>to the low thousands. I've seen numbers on other lists ranging into the

>tens of thousands and more (see Dr Bertell).



Actually, Dr. Bertell would say the number is closer to 1.4 billion - 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Know_Nukes/message/1054.



Of course, if you were actually interested in the real number you might take 

a look at the UN/UNICEF report locaterd here:

http://www.undp.org/dpa/publications/chernobyl.pdf (355 kb)



I am sure we can both agree that Chernobyl was a catastrophe with a terrible 

human and environmental toll.  I hope someday that we can agree that a 

Chernobyl-like accident could never happen in the West, and the world's 

nuclear power operating history proves its relative safety, even including 

Chernobyl.



Just a snip of the executive summary of the report follows.



Regards,

Jim



*Health in the affected communities*

1.26 Morbidity in the affected areas continues to reflect the pattern in

other parts of the Former Soviet Union. Life expectancy, particularly of 

males, is substantially lower than in Western and Southern Europe, with 

heart disease and trauma the leading causes of death (see Section 4). Low 

household incomes, demoralisation, poor diet and high levels of alcohol and 

tobacco consumption are key factors.



1.27 Very considerable uncertainty remains over the possible long-term

health effects of the accident. On the one hand, the nuclear industry 

acknowledges only very limited and closely defined consequences. On the 

other, some politicians, researchers and voluntary movement workers claim 

that the accident has had profound and diverse impacts on the health of many 

millions of people. This uncertainty is a cause of widespread distress and 

misallocation of resources and needs to be addressed though rigorous and 

adequately funded international efforts.



1.28 No reliable evidence has emerged of an increase in leukemias, which had 

been predicted to result from the accident. However, some two thousand cases 

of thyroid cancer have so far been diagnosed among young people exposed to 

radioactive iodine in April and May 1986. According to conservative 

estimates, this figure is likely to rise to 8-10,000 over the coming years. 

While thyroid cancer can be treated, all of these people will need 

continuing medical attention for the rest of their lives. A significant 

number have potentially serious complications. It is likely that the coming 

decades will see an increase in other solid cancers resulting from exposure 

to radiation. However, there is no consensus over how many cases will occur.



1.29 As well as the direct effects of radiation on health, the accident led 

to enormous disruption to the lives of those who were evacuated from their 

homes and re-settled. Many of these people have found it very difficult to 

adapt to their new circumstances and continue to suffer high levels of 

stress, in particular linked to unemployment and a feeling that they do not 

have adequate control over their lives. A significant proportion of, in 

particular older, re-settlers still

express a desire to return to their old homes. Those who continue to live in 

contaminated areas appear to suffer lower levels of stress, but they too 

face high levels of unemployment and many of them face the problem of 

bringing children up in a polluted environment. Research suggests that 

recent years have seen a major change in attitudes among those remaining in 

the affected areas, with far fewer now wishing to leave.



Framework for action

1.30 Efforts to address the health effects of the Chernobyl accident need to 

be undertaken in the context of a wider reform of health care provision in 

the three countries. Such reform should be based on a rigorous examination 

of the cost effectiveness of current practices and a determined effort to 

improve primary care and ensure that resources are allocated on the basis of 

medical need. Strong measures are needed to improve the level of care 

available to poor people living in rural areas. Particular attention needs 

to be paid to addressing the

effects of social and environmental factors on health, including poverty, 

poor diet, alcoholism, tobacco abuse and poor living conditions including 

inadequate basic services such as sanitation and access to clean drinking 

water (Project 9).



1.31 Continuation of the present policies by the three affected States, the 

international community and charitable organisations will only serve to 

prolong the dependency culture that has developed over the past 15 years, 

and the associated negative aspects of health and well-being. If the health 

interests of the affected populations are to be addressed, the present 

emphasis on humanitarian aid, delivered to passive populations, has to be 

replaced, gradually, by assistance in

developing economically and socially sustainable communities. Such efforts 

must involve tackling the constraints imposed by radioactive contamination 

in a positive and innovative way.



1.32 This is not in anyway to minimise the seriousness of the situation for 

health and well-being or the role played by the exposure to ionising 

radiation.  However, the clear priority for health, both physical and 

psychological, is to improve basic primary health care, diet and living 

conditions, while at the same time helping those concerned to come to terms 

with living in a radioactively contaminated environment. This, and 

improvement in the economic status of the population, is the key to 

reversing the downward spiral in health and well-being.



1.33 The health problems linked to the Chernobyl accident reflect complex 

interactions between health, ecology, economics and community development. 

The effects of radiation cannot be ring-fenced and treated in isolation from 

other aspects of the lives of the individuals concerned (Project 9). 

Priority should be given to those measures which can be most effective in 

extending healthy life and improving well-being. In practice this means that 

a strong emphasis should be put on efforts to improve household incomes, to 

strengthen primary health care and to rebuild the structures of society at 

the community level. These objectives can best be achieved through active 

collaboration between the communities concerned, government agencies, local 

and national, the international community and the voluntary sector (Project 

8).



1.34 As far as the psychosocial dimension of health is concerned, two things 

are urgently needed. First, it is vital that those affected, and the 

population at large, be given clear advice on what, on the basis of the best 

evidence, are believed to be the real risks associated with the kinds of 

exposure to radiation that resulted from the Chernobyl accident. It is 

essential that this advice is honest and that

areas of doubt are fully acknowledged. Where appropriate, political leaders 

should be encouraged to add their weight to the effort to encourage a more 

realistic and balanced attitude to the question of radiation and health in 

the affected countries. The second thing that is needed is a mechanism to 

provide authoritative opinions on these issues and ensure that properly 

designed and impartial research is carried

out.



1.35 The history of the Chernobyl issue since the accident indicates the

importance of continuing high-level research; both to meet the needs of the 

affected populations and also to address questions of importance for 

humanity. Major health and environmental issues remain unresolved and, if 

the evidence is not to be lost forever, it is essential that they be 

investigated according to internationally recognised protocols and in a 

timely manner. Concern for the effects on health of ionising radiation 

delivered in low doses and at low dose rates has grown over the past 15 

years. These concerns reflect the fact that there is no direct basis

for determining risks associated with exposures of the kind resulting from 

the Chernobyl accident. Further research needs to be undertaken on this 

issue to supplement work already undertaken by the International Radiation 

Protection Association and other bodies.



1.36 Over the past decade, progress in radiobiology and radiation

epidemiology has been considerable. This research presents important 

challenges to existing concepts upon which risk estimation is based. In 

addition, little serious consideration has been given by the research 

community to ameliorating the psychosocial effects of accidents such as 

Chernobyl. The argument for a more systematic approach to Chernobyl related 

research is forcefully illustrated by the unexpected appearance of early 

childhood thyroid cancer, the unexpected absence of leukaemia stemming from 

the accident, and the persistence of the psychosocial

effect, all of which to some degree contradicted the accepted wisdom.



1.37 Specific health issues which need to be explored as a matter of

priority include the question of a possible link between breast cancer in 

younger women and women who were lactating at the time of the accident, and 

radiation. Studies in Japan indicate that such a relationship is possible. 

It is particularly important to resolve

this issue because early diagnosis through appropriate screening can be

effective in reducing mortality from breast cancer (Project 12).



1.38 The question of thyroid cancer in those who were infants or children at 

the time of the accident and who lived in areas outside of the areas 

designated as contaminated by caesium and strontium should be investigated 

as a matter of priority. Claims have been made in Russia that meteorological 

conditions may have led to fallout of radioactive iodine affecting a wider 

area through so-called dry deposition. If that were the case, then the scope 

of the current monitoring effort would need to be extended. Other issues 

that should be followed up include

the physical and psychological health of clean-up workers; an evaluation of 

the distribution of caesium in various body tissues and assessment of risk 

of tissue specific damage; a study of thyroid cancer in those who were 

adults at the time of the accident; the development of a strategy for 

screening that is cost effective; and an evaluation of the need for 

treatment and follow-up of young thyroid patients.  A high priority should 

be given to tackling the problem of iodine deficiency through properly 

researched and designed iodine supplementation programmes,

and, protection against iodine deficiency for the population at large

through the universal iodisation of salt.



1.39 As far as the psychosocial dimension of health is concerned it is

essential that the affected population and the population at large be given 

clear advice on what are believed to be the real risks associated with the 

kinds of exposure that resulted from the Chernobyl accident (Project 13). A 

mechanism, such as the proposed International Chernobyl Foundation, is 

needed to provide authoritative opinions on these issues and ensure that 

properly designed and impartial research is carried

out where needed. Determined efforts need to be made at national and local 

level to promote a balanced understanding of the health effects of radiation 

among the public, many of whom at present suffer distress as a result of 

ill-founded  fears.



--

Hold the door for the stranger behind you.  When the driver a 

half-car-length in front of you signals to get over, slow down.  Smile and 

say "hi" to the folks you pass on the sidewalk.  Give blood.  Volunteer.



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