Paths of radiation exposure

In February 2003, the IAEA established die Chernobyl Forum, in cooperation with seven other UN organizations as well as the competent authorities of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In April 2005, the reports prepared by two expert groups - "Environment", coordinated by the IAEA, and "Health", coordinated by WHO - were intensively discussed by the Forum and eventually approved by consensus. The conclusions of diis 2005 Chernobyl Forum study (revised version published 2006І) are in line with earlier expert studies, notably die UNSCEAR 2000 reports which said that "apart from this [thyroid cancer] increase, there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 14 years after the accident. There is no scientific evidence of increases in overall cancer incidence or mortality or in non-malignant disorders that could be related to radiation exposure." As yet there is little evidence of any increase in leukemia, even among clean-up workers where it might be most expected However, these workers - where high doses may have been received remain at increased risk of cancer in the long term.

The Chernobyl Forum report says that people in the area have suffered a paralyzing fatalism due to myths and misperceptions about die threat of radiation, which has contributed to a culture of chronic dependency. Some "took on the role of invalids." Mental health coupled with smoking and alcohol abuse is a very much greater problem than radiation, but worst of all at the time was the underlying level of health and nutrition. Apart from the initial 116,000, relocations of people were very traumatic and did little to reduce radiation exposure, which was low anyway. Psycho-social effects among those affected by the accident are similar to those arising from other major disasters such as earthquakes, floods and fires.

According to the most up-to-date estimate of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the average radiation dose due to the accident received by inhabitants of 'strict radiation control' areas (population 216,000) in the years 1986 to 2005 was 61 mSv (over the 20-year period), and in the 'contaminated' areas (population 6.4 million) it averaged 9 mSv, a minor increase over the dose due to background radiation over the same period (50 mSv)4.

The numbers of deaths resulting from the accident are covered in the Report of the Chernobyl Forum Expert Group "Health", and are summarized in Chernobyl Accident Appendix 2: Health Impacts.

Some exaggerated figures have been published regarding the death toll attributable to the Chernobyl disaster. A publication by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) lent support to these. However, the Chairman of UNSCEAR made it clear that "this report is full of unsubstantiated statements that have no support in scientific assessments, and the Chernobyl Forum report also repudiates them.

Main environmental pathways uf human radiation exposure {Souroft: IAEA technical report ISBN 02-0-1» l«-4Vlsnna 15011