Re: Mayak etc.

[Franz Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 11:10 17.07.1998 -0500, you wrote:
>I may mention that I just finished a review about the Chelyabinsk-Mayak 
>problems, as well as of other major former Soviet Union radioactive 
>contaminations (bombs, accidents etc). This was so
>because I participated in a conference in Obninsk, Russia (June 22-26)
>which dealt with biodosimetry (chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei), 
>ESR-dosimetry of dental enamel etc. for these exposed populations.
>Obninsk BTW was found in 1954 when a reactor started there but 
>officially the town didn't exist until 1968. Obninsk is located about 60 
>U.S. miles south (south-west) of Moscow. The town has about 110000 
>inhabitants.
>
>The radioactivity situation in former Soviet Union is a long and complex 
>story - unfortunately my 16 page summary is in Swedish 

Jag aer mycket interesserad i att fa rapporten - kan to skicka den med
e-brev eller med fax? 


(a travel report 
>supposed to be read by non-professionals in "radiation") but let me put 
>it this way: There is no question that the Chelyabinsk-Mayak area is (to 
>my knowledge at least) the most radioactively contaminated area on this 
>planet.
>I have gone through a lot of independent sources and they all point
>in the same direction.
>

This is well know since a long time, but public opinion is always directed
towards  p o t e n t i a l   risks and not toward really existing ones. 

It is very difficult to reconstruct the doses & consequences because
>of all the secrecy there was. Officially chromosome genetics didn't
>exist in Soviet Union so then there were no such damage to report.
>The history is very interesting (and was the reason for me asking
>about Timofejev-Resovskij the other day: I still wish I could get
>more information about this man). I suggest that you check out
>Lysenko on the Internet. From the works of one Russian historian
>it is obvious that Stalin himself actively and extensively edited 
>Lysenko's texts in detail. This whole science-political context is
>necessary I think for a deeper understanding of the radiobiology
>of former Soviet Union. I collaborate with several Russian scientists
>one of whom had Lysenko as a teacher in Moscow 1960-61 (DNA still
>officially didn't exist by that time).
>
>The works by Zhores Medvedev (New Scientist, Vol. 72, 1976:264-267
>and Vol. 74, 1977:761-764) are good introductions.
>

When will you folks really understand that radiation protection,
environmental contamination etc. is not a matter of science, but of
politics???? Flames welcome!

Franz


Franz Schoenhofer
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Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
Fax.: same number
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e-mail: schoenho@via.at

Office:
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