Health effects of Chernobyl. What is a fact? – Market Health

30 years after the Chernobyl disaster, the effects do not seem so apocalyptic as shortly after. Various sources variously estimate the number of victims of the disaster.

According to the United Nations Scientific Committee. Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) killed 62 people. The report of the Chernobyl Forum (the forum included representatives from WHO and the UN) estimates that as a direct result of the disaster 31 people died and more than 200 fell ill with radiation sickness.

Prof. Wade Allison of Oxford University estimated the number of deaths caused by cancer because of Chernobyl 81. On the other hand report Physicians Against Nuclear War estimates the number of cases of thyroid cancer arising because of the disaster on 10 and 000 suggests the possibility of a further 50 000 cases. Among the residents of contaminated sites is not observed an increased risk of cancers other than thyroid cancer.

How radiates Chernobyl
Meanwhile, in a much more frequent mining disasters killed tens and even several hundred people. The explosion at a toy factory in Thailand (1994) cost the lives of 213 people, the explosion of the tank with chemicals in Bhopal (India, 1984) of 3849, a record for the number of victims of a series of disasters there in China (1975) caused the death of 230,000 people. Even more victims entailed some natural disasters – the most deadly was the cyclone Bhola 1970, which hit the coast of Bangladesh, killing 500 000 people.

The Chernobyl accident caused radioactive contamination of the area on the border of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia respectable on 125 000 to 146 000 square kilometers, a radioactive cloud spread across Europe. However, the highly contaminated area around the power plant has an area of ​​just half a square kilometer.

The measurements made outside the Chernobyl May 10, 2001 year by the radiologists of the Warsaw University of Technology registered the radiation power of a dose of 1 mSv per year – such as now Warsaw. The average dose to the whole body, which as a result of the Chernobyl failure was a resident of Polish in the first year after the accident amounted to 0.3 mSv. In 70 years it will probably be about 0.9 mSv. During this time, the radiation dose from natural sources will amount to about 170 mSv.

nuclear bombs gave more radioactive fallout
Although the morning of April 28, 1986 radiation monitoring station in Mikolajki recorded the activity of isotopes radioactive air increased up to half a million times the dose received by people was only a few times larger than derived from natural sources.

the fallout from Chernobyl, not only was not the only one that passed over the Polish, but it turned out to be much smaller than in the case of test explosions of nuclear weapons in the late 50s and 60s (for a total of 2,419 explosions).