(October 19, 1990) On 1 October a large-scale study into the radiation effects of the Chernobyl disaster began. The study means to not only establish the health and environmental effects, bet also to evaluate what protective measures can and should be taken, say officials.
(340.3398) WISE Amsterdam - According to a document put together by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, 100 inhabitants of a number of areas surrounding Chernobyl are being issued radiation meters. With the meters, they are being asked to measure the amount of radiation produced in their environment. Also, these people are being given portable apparatus with which they can measure the amount of radioactive cesium which their bodies have absorbed and retained. The object of this project, says IAEA, is to reconsider the expected effects of the radiation caused by the Chernobyl accident in April, 1986.
The evacuation of 200,000 people from an area 100-120 kilometers north of Chernobyl took place recently due to the strict safety measures the people were forced to observe during their everyday lives. For instance, to prevent children from being contaminated by radioactive sand, they were only allowed to walk and play on asphalt surfaces. The asphalt surfaces were also hosed down daily in an attempt to keep the level of radiation as low as possible. Because of the growing number of reports of illnesses and congenital abnormalities in humans and animals resulting from radiation, the international levels for evacuation after a serious accident are coming under heavy criticism and pressure.
| A letter has been sent to the French Health Minister by the representatives of five associations protesting a statement made in Byelorussla by a delegation of three World Health Organization experts, Including M.M. Pellerin, the Health Officer in charge of the French radio-protection and a member of the ICRP. The statement about the committed dose limit above which it would be necessary to evacuate people from contaminated areas - 70 to 105 rem over a lifetime of 70 years - is a violation of French regulations. The groups also point out that the life dose limits proposed are in fact 10 to 15 times the limits recommended by the ICRP since 1985 and adopted by WHO in 1988 (0.1 rem per year, i.e. 7 rem in 70 years). The groups have yet to receive an answer to their letter. Contact: Bell Belbeoch, Groupement de Scientifiques pour l'Information sur l'Energie Nucleaire, 2 Rue Francois Villon, 91400 Orsay, France. |
The Dutch authorities use a radiation level of 250 milliSievert (mSv) just after an accident as the standard for evacuation. They are considering whether people could return to the evacuated area if they have not previously absorbed more than 250 mSv. The Russian standard for evacuation is 350 mSv, bet according to Yuri Tsjerbak, vice-chairman of the Commission for the Environment and Nuclear Energy of the Upper Soviet, on the grounds of the measured effects, these standards are much too flexible. Tsjerbak recommends a maximum level of 100 mSv.
The IAEA is not convinced of an increase in radiation illnesses around Chernobyl from the materials available. According to the IAEA, the evidence does not coincide with the findings on radiation effects collected after the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Besides which, the IAEA claims, the area concerned has always had food problems. Heavy (poisonous) metals, particularly lead, have been found to be present in locally grown food. The Agency says this could explain the bad state of health found in people living in the effected areas.
In order to "clarify" the situation, the IAEA has taken over leadership of the project team, which also includes members from the European Community, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Their first task is to describe the present radiation situation. The official Russian information will be verified, particularly the findings on the effects of the long-life radioactive materials such as cesium, strontium and plutonium. This will include establishing whether all the instruments were properly used and, whether the random cheeks were representative.
The official Russian maps of the amounts of radiation will also be checked. The inhabitants of a number of places will be given radiation meters and will receive intensive health checks. On the basis of all the collected evidence, the levels of radiation considered "safe" will be reconsidered. The IAEA is, in fact, doing what has already been done by the Russians. At the end of this year, the IAEA will publish the results of the project and open meetings to discuss the findings will be held in Kiev and Minsk.
Source and Contact: Herman Damveld, Kloosterstraat 45, 9717 LC Groningen, The Netherlands, tel: 050-125612.