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Fear, not radiation, the sad legacy of Chernobyl
http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/show/A4CC9963-F203-1EE9-B777058EE3F5D77D
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VIENNA - Chernobyl was the
site of the worst nuclear accident in history. But nearly two decades
on, poverty and a crippling fatalism—not radiation—are what truly
afflicts the people of the region, concludes a groundbreaking report
compiled by UN experts.
The Chernobyl Forum report estimates that
some 4,000 people could eventually die from radiation exposure caused
by the 1986 accident in the then-Soviet Union, far fewer than previously
assumed. To date only 56 deaths have been directly attributed to the
disaster.
"The health and environmental effects…have been relatively, and
surprisingly, minor,” said Kalman Mizsei, UN Assistant Secretary-General
and UNDP Regional Director for Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States.
But Mr. Mizsei said that a lack of information and a Soviet legacy of
fatalism have left Chernobyl survivors convinced that they continue to
live under a cloud, resulting in a culture of despair and dependency
that has stunted development in the impoverished region.
“Research shows that people still don't know what the effects are,”
he said at a press briefing ahead of the Chernobyl Forum conference in
Vienna. “The fatalistic mentality that communism created has shifted to
Chernobyl.”
The Chernobyl Forum is comprised of eight UN agencies, including the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as representatives
from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, the three countries most affected by
the accident.
The Forum's concluding report, “Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health,
Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts,” is being presented at the
conference, which begins 6 September. The three-volume, 600-page report
represents the work of hundreds of scientists, economists and health
experts and provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the
disaster.
The experts concluded that the majority of people who had been living
in the contaminated area received only low doses of radiation. There is
no evidence of decreased fertility, or of an increase in birth defects.
There have been 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer caused by the blast,
mainly in children, but except for nine fatalities, all of them have
recovered.
Moreover, the accident has been far less damaging to the environment
than originally feared. Except for the still closed, highly contaminated
30-kilometre area surrounding the reactor, and a few lakes and
restricted forests, radiation levels have mostly returned to acceptable
levels.
While the report makes clear that Chernobyl was a “very serious
accident with major health consequences,” it also found that “the mental
health impact of Chernobyl is the largest public health problem
unleashed by the accident to date”.
Misinformation has led many Chernobyl survivors to believe that they
are doomed to die from the radiation. Ironically such fatalism has
caused many to disregard their health, exacerbating existing problems
such as poor diet, excessive drinking and tobacco use.
“Fear is not allowing [these people] to get on with their lives,”
said Burton Bennett, chairman of the Chernobyl Forum and an authority on
radiation effects.
The real problem of the Chernobyl area, as for much of the former
Soviet Union, is poverty, said Mr. Mizsei, but misperceptions have
helped to keep moneys from being used effectively for development.
Belarus spent a whopping 22% of its budget on Chernobyl outlays in
1991, and currently sets aside 6%. Ukraine devotes some 5%-7% of its
national budget to Chernobyl.
The UNDP has identified the need for better information, a more
targeted and equitable system of benefits and investment-friendly
policies to end what Mr. Mizsei called a “backward-looking, fatalistic
dependency culture”.
Mr. Mizsei said that the report’s largely positive findings about the
health and environmental impact of Chernobyl will help governments and
Chernobyl residents to move on from the disaster and focus on the
future.
“This conference is about putting to rest the science and facts about
Chernobyl, and looking forward,” he said. “Science is on the side of
hope, not gloom.”
For further information, please contact:
Louisa Vinton
UNDP Chernobyl focal point
+1 917 535 4791
louisa.vinton@undp.org
UNDP Chernobyl focal point
+1 917 535 4791
louisa.vinton@undp.org
The Forum’s conclusions are presented in the digest report,
“Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts,”
which can be downloaded here: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/Chernobyl/pdfs/05-28601_Chernobyl.pdf
For additional information on the Chernobyl Forum, see: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/Chernobyl
To view the UN report “The Human Impact of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery,” see: http://www.undp.org/dpa/publications/chernobyl.pdf