Why the press should stop quoting the IAEA and the WHO

From IPPNW report, Health Effects of Chernobyl 25 years after the reactor catastrophe:

Note on the unreliability of official data published 
by WHO and IAEA 

At the “Chernobyl Forum of the United Nations” organised in September 2005 by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organisation, the presentation of the results of work on the effects of Chernobyl showed serious inconsistencies. For example: the press release of the WHO and IAEA stated that in the future, at most, 4,000 surplus fatalities due to cancer and leukaemia amongst the most severely affected groups of people might be expected. In the WHO report on which this was based however, the actual number of deaths is given as 8,930. These deaths were not mentioned in any newspaper articles. When one examines the source quoted in the WHO report, one arrives at a number between 10,000 and 25,000 additional fatalities due to cancer and leukaemia. 

Given this it can be rationally concluded that the official statements of the IAEA and the WHO have manipulated their own data. Their representation of the effects of Chernobyl has little to do with reality. 

The Chernobyl Forum also does not take into account that even UNSCEAR has estimated that the collective dose (the usual measurement for radiation damage) for Europe outside the region of the former Soviet Union is higher than the corresponding data for the Chernobyl region. The collective dose from the catastrophe was distributed to 53% throughout Europe, 36% throughout the affected regions in the Soviet Union, 8% in Asia, 2% in Africa and 0.3% in America. 

S. Pflugbeil pointed out already in 2005 that there were discrepancies between press releases, the WHO report and the source quoted in it (Cardis et al.). Up until now neither the Chernobyl Forum, IAEA nor the WHO have deemed it necessary to let the public know that, on the basis of their own analysis, a two to five-fold higher number of deaths due to cancer and leukaemia are to be expected as the figures they have published. 

Even in 2011 – some 5 years on – no official UN organisation has as yet corrected these figures. The latest UNSCEAR publication on the health effects of Chernobyl does not take into account any of the numerous results of research into the effects of Chernobyl from the three countries affected. Only one figure – that of 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer among children and juveniles, and leukaemia and cataracts in liquidators – was included in their recent information to the media. Thus, in 2011 the UNSCEAR committee declared: On the basis of studies carried out during the last 20 years, as well as of previous UNSCEAR reports, UNSCEAR has come to the conclusion that the large majority of the population has no reason to fear that serious health risks will arise from the Chernobyl accident. The only exception applies to those exposed to radioiodine during childhood or youth and to liquidators who were exposed to a high dose of radiation and therefore had to reckon with a higher radiation-induced risk. 

New Beyond Nuclear Thunderbird lays out Chernobyl facts

Many myths abound about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Even now, 32 years later, the so-called "facts" are usually focused on how few people immediately died, a completely misleading statistic since nuclear power plant disasters do not usually kill people instantly. But over the long-term, their legacy is indeed both considerable and often deadly.

In the newest edition of our periodic Thunderbird newsletter, we look at the facts about the Chernobyl disaster and debunk the many falsehoods that endeavor to downplay or even dismiss the deadly April 26, 1986 nuclear power plant accident whose legacy still causes harm today. Children continue to be born with Chernobyl-related birth defects and illnesses as the damage is passed through DNA. The radioactive contamination of land appears to be worse in some places. Wildlife are serving as sentinels as not only tumors, but smaller brain sizes, shortened life spans and sterility, among other impactsm, are observed.

See our story at Beyond Nuclear International and download Chernobyl: The Facts, to learn more. 

The women who blocked Russian nuclear deal in South Africa win Goldman Prize

Super good news and well deserved -- the announcement that two women activists from South Africa, Makoma Lekalakala and Liz McDaid (pictured), who relentlessly pursued and uncovered an illegal Russian nuclear power deal with their homeland South Africa, have won the prestigious Goldman environment prize.

As The Guardian's Jonathan Watts describes it, reporting from Cape Town: "Two grassroots women activists – one black, one white – stand together against two of the world’s most powerful men – one black, one white – over a secret, undemocratic, multibillion dollar nuclear deal.

"If this was the plot of a Netflix series, it might be dismissed as too neat, too perfectly symbolic and symmetrical.

"But this is the true story of the two South African winners of this year’s Goldman environment prize who tapped their roots in the anti-apartheid struggle to take on and beat an agreement by their nation’s recently deposed leader Jacob Zuma and Russian president, Vladimir Putin."

Read the full article.

Humanitarian care for Chernobyl's children

When the Chernobyl disaster struck, Belarus, just across the border from the Ukraine Chernobyl site, was the hardest hit. Children, especially, were seriously affected and continue to be. When Adi Roche set up her organization, Chernobyl Children International, in 1991 in Ireland, others were inspired to follow. One such was Linda Walker, who founded Chernobyl Children’s Project UK in 1995, not only to bring Belarussian children out of the country for "radiation vacations," but also to deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by Chernobyl inside Belarus. Her work continues today. Read our story about her at Beyond Nuclear International.

Dogs in the Chernobyl Zone are finally getting medical care

When the Chernobyl zone was evacuated, people left with what they could carry. As with Fukushima, many thought they would quickly return. The dogs left behind have proliferated, but at a terrible price. Many suffer from malnutrition and disease and are preyed upon by wolves. At least 250 have gathered around the Chernobyl reactor site where sympathetic workers have been feeding them. Now they are finally getting help.

Read Beyond Nuclear board member, Lucas Hixson's story on how he, and his Clean Futures Fund, is providing food and medical care for Chernobyl's strays.