On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine became the world’s worst nuclear accident. Twenty years later, the effects of this event are still being investigated by various organizations, including the Chernobyl Forum, a collection of international experts established in 2003 by the United Nations.
“It was the worst accident that could ever occur in a nuclear power plant,” said Dr. Burton Bennett, chairman of the Chernobyl Forum, at a lecture at U of T on Thursday. “The reactor core was totally destroyed and large amounts of radioactive materials were released into the environment.”
As part of the Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecture Series, Bennett discussed the findings of the Chernobyl Forum on the health consequences of the explosion. But despite the media’s “sensationalizing about the accident,” Bennett said, the effects of the Chernobyl power plant explosion were not as bad as is generally believed.
“Everyone knows that the Chernobyl accident was a very devastating accident,” he said. “There was widespread contamination, but for the most part, there were relatively low exposures.”
The most serious health consequences were suffered by the power plant workers exposed to radiation on the night of the accident and many children who received high doses of radioactive iodide, either directly or through the ingestion of contaminated milk. Approximately 5,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been detected in children since the accident, but only nine children have died from cancer.
“It’s not pleasant to have your thyroid removed, but it’s not fatal,” said Bennett. Thyroid cancer is a relatively benign cancer that can be treated by removing the gland and taking daily medication.
The forum also reported that the increase in cancer mortality due to radiation exposure would be only up to four per cent higher than cancer mortality from all other causes. They predict approximately 9,000 radiation-related fatal cancers in the affected populations.
However, Greenpeace released a controversial report several months ago predicting 90,000 deaths by radiation-related illnesses. The Chernobyl Forum firmly rejects this report.
Though health problems in both the contaminated and uncontaminated areas have sparked humanitarian aid efforts, Bennett affirms that current health problems should not be immediately attributed to the Chernobyl accident.
“There is a lot of psychological stress on the population and they feel they are victims of the accident,” he said. “[The citizens] need to have more self-help projects and economic recovery.”
Financial aid, according to Bennett, should be used to fund programs to revive the general economy of the region.
“The Chernobyl accident was a low-dose event,” he said. “I can’t over-emphasize this enough. There’s been a lot of sensationalizing about the accident and health consequences of the accident, but for most of those involved the doses were on the order of natural background radiation.”
