CHERNOBYL, Ukraine -- Twenty
years after the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the poisonous
radioactive legacy of the accident is crippling the health of several
generations.But while domestic and international agencies are disputing
estimates of the damage, many Chernobyl victims remain deprived of aid.
There could have been up to 9,000 excess cancer deaths due to Chernobyl disaster among the people who worked on the clean-up operations, evacuees and residents of the contaminated regions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report earlier this month.
"The WHO report on the health effects of Chernobyl gives the most affected countries, and their people, the information they need to be able to make vital public health decisions," said Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General.
However, the environmental group Greenpeace challenged the WHO report and claimed that the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster could top a quarter of a million cancers cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers. Greenpeace report described the U.N. data on Chernobyl "as a gross simplification of the real breadth of human suffering."
There could have been up to 9,000 excess cancer deaths due to Chernobyl disaster among the people who worked on the clean-up operations, evacuees and residents of the contaminated regions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report earlier this month.
"The WHO report on the health effects of Chernobyl gives the most affected countries, and their people, the information they need to be able to make vital public health decisions," said Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General.
However, the environmental group Greenpeace challenged the WHO report and claimed that the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster could top a quarter of a million cancers cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers. Greenpeace report described the U.N. data on Chernobyl "as a gross simplification of the real breadth of human suffering."
Greenpeace's report said it was
based on Belarus national cancer statistics and predicted up to 270,000 cancers
and 93,000 fatal cancer cases caused by Chernobyl. The report also estimated
that 60,000 people have additionally died in Russia because of the Chernobyl
accident, and estimates of the total death toll for the Ukraine and Belarus
could reach another 140,000.
The Greenpeace report said the incidence of cancer in Belarus had jumped 40 percent between 1990 and 2000, with children not yet born at the time of the disaster showing an 88.5-fold increase in thyroid cancers.
Gregory Haertl, a spokesman for Geneva-based WHO, reportedly defended its figures. He said the predicted eventual number of extra deaths in the most polluted areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia was estimated to be 4,000, while another 5,000 deaths were predicted among thos e who had been living in the less contaminated zones.
The Greenpeace report said the incidence of cancer in Belarus had jumped 40 percent between 1990 and 2000, with children not yet born at the time of the disaster showing an 88.5-fold increase in thyroid cancers.
Gregory Haertl, a spokesman for Geneva-based WHO, reportedly defended its figures. He said the predicted eventual number of extra deaths in the most polluted areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia was estimated to be 4,000, while another 5,000 deaths were predicted among thos e who had been living in the less contaminated zones.
[…….]
In the wake of the disaster,
some 57,000 square km of the Russian soil, with a population of 3 million
people, is contaminated, according to Russia's official estimates. It is
estimated that Belarus spends some 20 percent of its budget, Ukraine 10
percent, and Russia 1 percent to tackle the consequences of Chernobyl.
After the accident 116,000 people were evacuated from the area. An additional 230,000 people were relocated from the highly contaminated areas to other areas in subsequent years, according to the WHO. Russia has approved a series of bills to help Chernobyl victims and survivers, but not all of them are actually receiving promised aid.
After the accident 116,000 people were evacuated from the area. An additional 230,000 people were relocated from the highly contaminated areas to other areas in subsequent years, according to the WHO. Russia has approved a series of bills to help Chernobyl victims and survivers, but not all of them are actually receiving promised aid.
[…….]
Both local and international
non-governmental organizations have been carrying out a program of
"Solidarity with Chernobyl Children". Under the program, thousands of
children have been sent on vacations outside Ukraine, Belarus and Russia since
the disaster.
To deal with the aftermath of
the disaster, the U.N. set up a 19-member inter-agency Task Force on Chernobyl,
which, together with NGOs, provides aid to people affected by radiation,
studies the radiation's environmental impact, facilitates waste disposal and
decontamination, and provides technical support for improved nuclear safety.
The U.N. Strategy for Recovery, launched in 2002, gave all UN agencies and the
international community a framework for rebuilding the affected areas.
{…….}
As the world marked the 20th
anniversary of Chernobyl disaster, available evidence indicates that necessary
lessons have not been learned, as the Russian nuclear officials are still
willing to take risks of importing nuclear wasted from around the globe. (25/4/2006)
No comments:
Post a Comment