The conclusion of the IAEA that the death rate among liquidators is
not higher than normal and its silence on the high incidence of diseases
indicate a lack of appreciation for the work they did. The IAEA denies
that a significant increase in leukemia among liquidators has been found.
But a study on a group of liquidators shows that five years after their
work, cases of leukemia reached a peak and subsequently decreased. The
expected time between receiving a high dose of radiation and the development
of leukemia is five years. A relation therefore seems clear.[5] The IAEA
conclusion that other health problems are related to psychological stress
is questionable. It is certainly true that liquidators and inhabitants
of contaminated areas are fearful of the consequences of the disaster.
This will contribute to the illnesses that already exist or that can be
expected in the future. But to claim that all diseases other than thyroid
cancer and leukemia are caused by stress is pure nonsense. The rate of
birth defects, for instance, show a correlation with the amount of contamination.
In highly-affected areas, more birth defects have been diagnosed and the
defects are worse in nature. In Belarus an increase of 161 percent has
been recorded.[6]
Sharp increases in diseases among children also belie IAEA's "psychological
stress" claim. UNICEF statistics on the health conditions of Belarus children
from 1990 till 1994 show an increase in different diseases or defects [2].
It seems that the IAEA wants to relate the increase in diseases mainly to psychological stress. Radiation would only be the cause of higher incidence of thyroid cancer and leukemia. In this way, the number of deaths caused by radiation would be low. If the IAEA is to be believed, the other diseases/deaths are simply caused by stress. The IAEA projections on future cancer deaths are very low when one considers the dose that the liquidators and inhabitants received. With the received collective dose, calculations can be made on the expected number of cancer deaths in the future. When these calculations are made with dose-effect figures from the official pro-nuclear International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP), a death total of 50,000 to 70,000 can be expected - only due to radiation exposure in the first two years after the accident.[7] The American radiation expert John Gofman made even more dramatic calculations. Because the ICRP dose-effect figures are too low, he made calculations with a figure for risk for received radiation six times higher. He calculated that 317,000 to 475,000 deaths can be expected worldwide.[7]) The amount of 6,660 mentioned by the IAEA would certainly be too low.
Sources:
1. IAEA, "One decade after Chernobyl: summing up the consequences
of the accident. Conclusions." 1996;
2. UN , "Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster
relief assistance ... regions". 1995;
3. Standard Der Standard Online on Internet (Austria), 12 April 1996;
4. Okeanov A. Okeanov, Belarussian Centre for Medical Technologies,
Minsk. "The health status of the liquidators according to the Belarussian
Chernobyl registry data (preliminary analysis)", 1995;
5. Buzunov Buzunov et al, "Chernobyl NPP accident consequences cleaning
up participants in Ukraine health status". March 1996;
6. Lazuik ) G.I. Lazuik et al, "Frequency changes of inherited anomalies
in the Republic Belarus after the Chernobyl accident". 1995;
7. Greenpeace International Greenpeace International, "Chernobyl,
10 years after." 1996
article first published in: WISE News Communique 451, 26-4-96