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Chernobyl: Facts and Present Situation
INTRODUCTION
 Most
people think of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl as an event that has been
consigned to history, but the truth is that the accident continues to have a
devastating impact on the populations of three countries. In fact, although
almost fifteen years have passed since the event, the worst effects on the
health of the people affected may well be yet to come. While the explosive
stories of the meltdown and clouds of radiation have long since faded from
the headlines, the real human, economic, social, health and environmental
catastrophe has only just begun. The government of Belarus spend a large
proportion of its national budgets (to be more precise - 20 % annually) on
alleviating human suffering caused by the accident, but in the current
economic climate it is not nearly enough. Much work has been done to set
relief projects in motion, but unfortunately in the tide of emergencies now
facing the international community, Chernobyl has been largely forgotten and
only a fraction of the required external resources has been mobilized.
WHAT HAPPENED
Forty seconds after 0123 hours on 26 April 1986 during a safety experiment
at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant an operator pressed a button. Owing to
a design fault, the reactor went into meltdown and released a cloud of
radiation that spread across the entire Northern Hemisphere. Even today the
full magnitude of the catastrophe, the consequences of which will continue
to devastate the region for many decades. An area of 155,000 sq. km home to
7.1 million people including more than 3 million children, was contaminated
with hazardous levels of radiation. The Chernobyl disaster left its
radioactive trace on 23 % of the territory of the Republic of Belarus, 5 %
of the territory of Ukraine and 0,6 % of the territory of Russian
Federation.
At least 100 times as much radiation was released by this accident as by the
two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.
Reactor number 4 was completely destroyed by explosions that blew the roof
off the reactor building.
THE GENERAL SITUATION
Approximately 70 per cent of the radioactive fallout descended on Belarus,
making it the worst contaminated of all the affected countries. Twenty per
cent of our forests are still contaminated and cultivation of 6,000 sq.km of
agricultural land has been ruled out by law. About twenty per cent annually
of all government expenditure is channeled into mitigation of the direct
consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and 109,000 people have been
resettled. Nearly 2 million people, including 0,5 million children, were
directly affected by the accident. As a result of the economic crisis, the
Belarusian Government manages to make available only a part of the money
originally planned for Chernobyl relief.
EVACUATION AND RESETTLEMENT
Thousands of people still live in areas with high levels of contamination.
Resettlement on this scale is a massive operation that continues to be a
tremendous economic burden. Whole new towns have had to be built, ready for
immediate occupation. This upheaval has placed an enormous strain on
people's lives. Building a new town is not as simple as putting up a few
tower blocks; whole communities must be reconstructed complete with all the
necessary services, institutions, jobs, hospitals and so on. Functioning
communities are organic and complex, so it is not surprising that when a new
community is created from scratch, it does not always run smoothly. The
local economies of the new settlements have to be subsidized by the national
governments and there are high levels of unemployment.
HEALTH EFFECTS
It is almost 15 years since the accident, and yet the worst may still come.
So far the biggest threat to health has been thyroid cancer. During the
accident, there are emissions of radioactive iodine, which affects the
thyroid and can lead to thyroid cancer as well as other thyroid disorders.
Radioactive iodine has a short half-life and so decays quickly, ceasing to
contaminate the region. However, it takes some time for thyroid cancer to
develop, and the people most vulnerable are those who were young children or
babies unborn at the time of the accident.
The number of people with thyroid cancer began to increase about five years
after the accident This number continues to rise. In some areas the
incidence is over a hundred times higher than before the accident.
Scientists originally predicted that the incidence would not peak until
2006, and it was expected that the figure would eventually reach 6,600, but
recently the number of cases has exceeded expectations. Over 3,000 cases of
thyroid cancer have already been reported.
The World Health Organization's International Thyroid Project has found
evidence suggesting that even relatively low levels of radiation exposure
may result in underactive thyroid syndrome, also known as hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism can have the following effects: in new-borns, severe mental
and growth retardation; in children it can cause dwarfism; and in adults it
can cause lethargy, cold intolerance, weight gain, swelling of hands and
feet, infertility and depressed heart function.
Evidence is also coming to light suggesting that lung, heart and kidney
problems can also be traced to radiation released from Chernobyl.
The health impact of the disaster is not restricted to the direct effects of
radiation exposure. The contamination of agricultural land has practically
nullified agricultural production, and this has had a severe nutritional
impact on the population. 80 per cent of the population of Belarus have
health problems ranging from vitamin deficiencies to thyroid cancers.
LONG-TERM HEALTH EFFECTS
Very little is known about the long-term health effects of exposure to
radiation because it is a relatively new phenomenon, and the full
consequences may not be apparent for a very long time.
Statistics show that, so far, thyroid cancer is the primary form of cancer
which can be directly linked with Chernobyl, but most other cancers would
not start to show up for at least 10 years after the accident, and might
well take 15-20 years to materialize. When other types of cancer do
materialize, it will be difficult to prove that they were caused by
radiation exposure, because medical science is not yet able to differentiate
between cancers resulting from exposure to radiation and cancers resulting
from other causes.
Recent studies have shown that some people, who were children at the time of
the disaster, have developed rogue antibodies which fail to recognize the
body's own tissue and attack it as though it were a foreign infection. In
this case, the antibodies are said to be attacking the thyroid, and this may
lead to hypothyroidism. Young people from two villages were tested. One of
these villages was heavily contaminated, while the other escaped with
negligible contamination. No significant difference in thyroid function was
found, but the young people from the contaminated village were five times
more likely to have developed anti-thyroid gland antibodies than their
counter- parts.
There is some controversy about the findings of the various research
projects addressing the environmental and health effects of Chernobyl, but
the one thing that emerges crystal clear is the importance of continuing
medical research. There are several reasons why this research is vital for
the people living in the affected areas. Firstly, better understanding of
the health effects of radiation exposure is essential for accurate
diagnosis, and appropriate treatment. Secondly, and perhaps equally
important, the better the understanding of the health effects, the easier it
is to provide convincing reassurance to the residents of the affected area,
whose health has suffered enormously from the psychological effects of
living with contamination. Another good case for extensive medical research
is the sad fact that it will very likely prove vital for the victims of
future nuclear accidents. Aside from this, terrible though it may sound, it
is also a unique opportunity for medical research, which may bear all sorts
of unexpected fruit.
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTS
Radioactive contamination is an invisible aura. The meadows around Chernobyl
are teeming with wildlife. The rivers teem with fish that have been allowed
to grow unhooked to over ten feet long. At first glance it could be the
Garden of Eden, for radiation is not only invisible, it cloaks itself in
nature. Around Chernobyl, nature is protected from man by contamination. But
you can feel that something is horribly wrong. Radiation has an evil aura,
which is partly physical and partly perceived, but both are equally real.
The physical aspect is the irradiated particles which release energy in the
process of decay, which can damage living tissue. The perceived aspect is
the feeling of being surrounded by an invisible danger that we know can harm
us but that we do not understand. This feeling is shared by more than seven
million people and is as harmful as the physical effects of radiation
exposure.
One of the most important factors pertaining to the psychosocial effects of
the accident on the affected population is the quality of public
information. Then Government of the Soviet Union has left our people with a
deep mistrust of the authorities. In Chernobyl itself, information about the
seriousness of the accident was withheld for weeks, while children played
outdoors exposing themselves to radiation. In the town of Pripyat, just a
mile or so from the reactor, 36 hours passed before residents were told that
there was any sort of danger. A teacher took her class of small children out
onto the bridge to watch the distant firemen as they struggled to control
the chaos at the leaking reactor. Those children have all developed thyroid
carcinomas.
Not surprisingly, people in the region have very little faith in public
information, particularly information about their own safety. People do not
trust radiation safety labels on food products; they do not trust any home
produce; they do not trust the authorities. Even people in very mild- ly
contaminated areas who are not at risk from radiation-related health
problems, believe that they are in danger, and live in fear. Every illness
and abnormality is blamed on Chernobyl, and people are often afraid to have
children. Women who have moved away from the Chernobyl region often try to
keep their former home a secret for fear that men will not wish to marry
them. Limited knowledge of the long-term effects of exposure to radiation,
along with a general distrust of public information and the inevitable
rumors of hideous ailments and genetic mutants, have induced psychological
trauma and prolonged panic in the hearts and minds of millions of people.
ECONOMIC EFFECTS
Apart from the obvious enormous cost of emergency relief and relocation, the
accident has also taken a massive toll on the region's ability to create
wealth. The region which once provided food for people throughout the Soviet
Union, is now reduced to importing everything. No one claims that if it were
not for Chernobyl the area would be an economic miracle, but it is
undeniable that the disaster has had a devastating impact on the economy.
Today, even safe food products grown in the area are virtually impossible to
sell because nobody trusts that they are safe. The affected region also
includes an immense area of forest, which is now contaminated. Timber was
once a sort of hard currency in this region, but it, too, is now impossible
to sell. These difficulties leave the various governments with massive and
ever-increasing trade deficits, and consequently fewer and fewer funds for
the huge clean-up and resettlement projects.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
A total area of 155,000 sq. km is still contaminated with the dangerous
radioactive isotopes cesium 137 and strontium 90, which have long
radioactive half-lives and will continue to threaten the environment
throughout most of the next century. The affected area consists of vast
forests and prime agricultural land. More than 200 thousand hectares of
forest are contaminated. The forests and farmland together constituted the
livelihood of the people. They are now effectively barren. As well as
cultivated crops, wild food sources are also contaminated— berries,
mushrooms, fish and game are all a threat to life. As radio-nuclides slowly
penetrate the soil they filter down into the water-table and poison the
rivers and lakes. The threat of radioactive pollution looms over the rivers,
which are the water supply for thousands people.
PERSISTING DANGERS OF FURTHER RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION
Even in areas where clean-up operations have been successful, or where
people have been satisfactorily resettled, this is not the end of the story,
as there are still a number of ways in which recontamination might occur.
FLOODING
If the plain on which the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant stands were to
flood, radio-nuclides settled in the topsoil could be washed into the
Pripyat River and Dnieper reservoirs, the main water supply for millions of
people.
CONTAMINATED WASTE DUMPS
Wherever clean-up operations have been mounted, there are burial sites for
contaminated waste. These are not always as deep or as safe as they should
be, and need to be very carefully monitored. There is a real danger that
radioactive particles could be washed down into the ground- water and thus
contaminate rivers and water supplies.
CONTAMINATED FORESTS AND FOREST FIRES
Dangerous levels of radioactive contamination have been measured in huge
areas of forest land. One major cause for concern is the risk of forest
fires, which would send clouds of smoke carrying radioactive material into
the atmosphere, leaving us once again at the mercy of the winds.
WHY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST HELP
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster has caused suffering and hardship on an
enormous scale. But when people look at the facts for the first time the
number of people who have died, the absence of any compelling evidence of
genetic deformities, their initial reaction is often to think that after all
it is not as bad as they originally thought. All too rarely have the media
drawn sufficient attention to the scale and complexity of tile con-
sequences of this one industrial accident. An ugly stain has spread over a
big chunk of the world. The psychological and social impact on the
population and the toll that it has taken on the various economies is
immeasurable. This area might have stood a good chance of emerging from the
ashes of the Soviet Union as a progressive and optimistic society, but
Chernobyl has destroyed that chance. The inhabitants of this area are still
struggling to rebuild their lives.
The best reason for helping these people is that they are so easy to help.
They are the first ones to help themselves. Their education level is one of
the highest in the world, there are many well qualified people, and the
infrastructure is intact. The relief projects being carried out have all
been meticulously worked out by the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force
on Chernobyl and the benefits are instantly visible and measurable. In every
project at every stage of the process, all the money would remain under the
direct control of the international organizations.
The international community has already done a great deal to help in this
region, and it is crucial that support should continue so, as not to waste
any of the previous good work. With support, this part of the world would
stand a good chance of getting back on track towards health and prosperity.
The Chernobyl Trust Fund, established by the United Nations, is not a
bottomless pit, it is an investment that will pay off.
ECONOMIC REHABILITATION
If, on 25 April 1986, one could have foreseen the break-up of the Soviet
Union, the region that would have looked the most promising in terms of its
economic future would have been Belarus. Now my country must import
everything. There are two ways in which aid can be of direct assistance. The
first is to lessen the financial burden of the governments concerned by
funds, organizational and structural assistance and expertise needed for
carrying out urgent health and safety measures. The second is to help it
restructure its economy so as to minimize the economic impact of the
disaster. One way in which relief organizations are tackling this problem is
by exploring alternative uses for contaminated agricultural land, for
instance by producing industrial crops such as bio-fuels. All of the other
proposed relief projects will boost the morale of the affected population,
and improved morale leads to improved growth.
PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION CENTERS
Psychosocial problems are much more difficult to treat than physical health
problems. However, there are now 3 United Nations community-based
rehabilitation centers in operation which do help. The rehabilitation
centers provide basic information about minimizing the health risks
associated with radiation. This is very important because people are often
ignorant of how to take the most simple and effective precautions. People in
the area have a great deal more confidence in information coming from
international organizations than information provided by their own
governments. The centers are clearly labeled with the United Nations
insignia, and they are proving very effective in establishing confidence in
public information. Other services provided by the centers include sports
facilities, medical health care and kindergartens. The centers now play a
central role in the community, and help to fill the gap left by the closure
of all the former Soviet institutions.
THE LIQUIDATORS
Altogether more than 200,000 Belarusian people participated in the clean-up
operation. They received individual doses of radiation across the whole
spectrum. 12 died slow painful deaths within three months of the accident;
thousands have suffered from long-term health problems. Robots were used to
remove bits of reactor fuel that had been blown onto the roofs of both the
turbine and Reactor Number 3. But the robots could not cope with the
enormous levels of radiation and broke down. Soviet authorities decided that
the best policy was to get young conscript to remove the debris by hand. The
conscripts were not fully aware of the dangers involved and received massive
doses of radiation. Survival among them jokingly refer to themselves as
"bio-robots". The liquidators who are not yet invalids live their lives as
though they were carrying a biological ticking bomb. They pay dearly for
their efforts, and certainly deserve international support.
SUPPORT FOR CHERNOBYL VICTIMS WILL SAVE PEOPLE FROM FUTURE DISASTERS
The accident at the Tokaimura reprocessing plant in Japan has shown us that
serious nuclear accidents can also happen in highly developed countries.
There is an enormous amount to be learned from Chernobyl about preventing
future nuclear accidents, and coping with them effectively when they happen.
As Tokaimura has shown us, the sad fact is that others will need this
knowledge at some stage in the future. It is vital to the world, and not
only the afflicted population of Belarus that we give the Chernobyl
humanitarian program our strongest support.
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