1995, vi + 38 pages [E. F*, R*]
ISBN 92 4 156181 5
Sw.fr. 11.-/US $9.90; In developing countries: Sw.fr. 7.70
Order no. 1150440
Summarizes the results of international investigations aimed at determining the health consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The accident, which occurred in late April 1986, resulted in the exposure of over five million people to ionizing radiation caused by fallout of radioactive nuclides. Though the immediate emergency actions taken are described, the report concentrates on findings from the large International Programme on the Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident (IPHECA). Established in 1991, IPHECA is a cooperative initiative of WHO, the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and a number of other countries and institutions.
The report opens with a description of the accident, the factors responsible, and the extent of radioactive contamination that followed. The main part describes the work conducted by IPHECA and the initial conclusions that have emerged. While noting that the full extent of the accident's effects will not become apparent for many years to come, the report reaches a number of conclusions derived from five initial pilot projects. These covered selected thyroid diseases, including thyroid cancer, among children; leukaemia and related blood diseases; brain damage from prenatal exposure; management of epidemiological registries; and oral health.
For thyroid diseases, the report concludes that a sharp increase in the incidence of childhood thyroid cancer has been one of the major health consequences of the accident. In addition, more than 95% of the thyroid cancers reported in children in the affected areas were highly invasive. For leukaemia and related blood diseases, the results obtained so far show no changes in morbidity which could be linked to the effects of radiation; long-term studies are needed.
The investigation of brain damage in utero found some evidence to suggest retarded mental development and deviations in behavioural and emotional reactions in a small group of exposed children. A firm conclusion concerning the extent to which radiation contributed to these problems could not be reached in the absence of individual dosimetry data. The project on oral health found no difference in the types and distribution of oral diseases observed among residents in contaminated and uncontaminated areas.