Publication Laka-library:
The international Chernobyl project
| Author | IAEA |
| Date | August 1991 |
| Classification | 2.34.8.11/02 (CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT - CONSEQUENCES SURROUNDINGS - MEDICAL & MUTATIONS) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Introduction On April 26, 1986 a major reactor accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This caused acute radiation injuries and deaths among plant workers and firemen. It also led to radiation exposure to thousands of persons involved in rescue and clean-up operations. There was severe radioactive contamination in the area, resulting in the evacuation of people from a 30-km zone around the power plant. It became clear over the months following the accident that radioactive contamination of varying severity had also occurred in extensive areas of the UkrSSR, BSSR and RSFSR up to hundreds of kilometers from the site. Information about the severity and significance of this contamination was often sparse and uneven; public opinion was uncertain and even many doctors were not sure how to interpret information that did become available. As a result, there was a loss of confidence in the information and in the countermeasures recommended. The Government of the USSR sought international assistance in tackling the problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) sent a team of experts in June 1989 as did the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in early 1990. The WHO concluded among other things that ''scientists who are not well versed in radiation effects have attributed various biological and health effects to radiation exposure. These changes cannot be attributed to radiation exposure, especially when the normal incidence is unknown, and are much more likely to be due to psychological factors and stress. Attributing these effects to radiation not only increases the psychological pressure in the population and provokes additional stress-related health problems, it also undermines confidence in the competence of the radiation specialists''. The League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies made similar observations.
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