Monday, September 12, 2011

Health Risks and Nuclear Disasters

From "Chapter V: Nonmalignant Diseases after the Chernobyl Catastrophe" by Alexey V. Yablokov in Chenobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and Environment

http://www.strahlentelex.de/Yablokov%20Chernobyl%20book.pdf



"Adverse effects as a result of Chernobyl irradiation have been found in every group that has been studied.

Brain damage has been found in individuals directly exposed—liquidators and those living in the contaminated territories, as well as in their offspring.

Premature cataracts; tooth and mouth abnormalities; and blood, lymphatic, heart, lung, gastrointestinal, urologic, bone, and skin diseases afflict and impair people, young and old alike.

Endocrine dysfunction, particularly thyroid disease, is far more common than might be expected, with some 1,000 cases of thyroid dysfunction for every case of thyroid cancer, a marked increase after the catastrophe.

There are genetic damage and birth defects especially in children of liquidators and in children born in areas with high levels of radioisotope contamination.

Immunological abnormalities and increases in viral, bacterial, and parasitic diseases are rife among individuals in the heavily contaminated areas...."

page 122

"There is evidence of increased incidence and severity of diseases characterized by intestinal toxicoses, gastroenteritis, bacterial sepsis, viral hepatitis, and respiratory viruses in areas contaminated by Chernobyl radionuclides (Batyan and Kozharskaya, 1993; Kapytonova and Kryvitskaya, 1994; Nesterenko et al., 1993; Busuet at al., 2002; and others). Genetic instability markedly increased in the contaminated territories and has resulted in increased sensitivity to viral and other types of infections (Vorobtsova et al., 1995)...."

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