published by WISE News Communique on April 26, 1996

IAEA underestimates health effects of Chernobyl


On 8-12 April, the IAEA, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission (EC), organized the conference "One Decade after Chernobyl: Summing up the Consequences".

(451.4457) WISE Amsterdam - The conclusions of the IAEA on the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster are as follows:

The IAEA conclusions on Chernobyl's health effects are very conservative and are contradicted by other studies. The co-organizer of the conference, WHO, presented completely different figures last year. WHO, UNESCO and UNICEF submitted their findings in a 1995 report to the UN General Assembly. WHO noted an increase in illnesses and deaths among liquidators. According to the Chernobyl Union (the union of liquidators), ten percent of the liquidators have become less able-bodies and are unable to do full-time work.2 The vice-advisor of Chernobyl Affairs of the Ukrainian parliament, Wladimir Usatenko, says that according to federal registers, 60,000 of the 360,000 Ukrainian liquidators have died (not only due to Chernobyl). Another 49,000 have become less able-bodied and are unable to work.3 The amount of tumors among Belarus liquidators is also higher than normally could be expected 4.
Group Tumors per 100.000
normal population (20-54 years) 146.6
all liquidators 273.3
liquidators in non-contaminated areas 200.4
liquidators in areas of 15 Curie/square km. 316.3

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.


Disease increase in percent
disorder of nervous system and sensory organs: 43
disorder of bone muscle und connective tissue system: 62
illness of blood producing organs: 24
diabetis 28
congenital heart and circulatory diseases 25

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. (In the next WISE Newscommunique, we will pay attention to the NGO counter-conference on the health effects of Chernobyl. We will also publish a report from the "Lessons of Chernobyl" conference in Kiev.)

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
Contact: Greenpeace Netherlands, Keizersgracht 174, 1016 DW Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +31-20-6261877
Fax: +31-20-6221272
Email: greenpeace.netherlands@green2.greenpeace.org
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