Just a few months before the 10th anniversary of the worst ever radiological accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine (26 April 1986), some 600 scientists, researchers, public health specialists and policy makers from 59 countries gathered in Geneva today to share the results of their studies and observations at a four-day scientific conference (20 - 23 November 1995) organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Republic and Canton of Geneva and the Ministries of Health of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
In his opening speech Dr Hiroshi Nakajima, WHO Director- General, reminded his audience that "This is the first of three international conferences related to Chernobyl, and the only one devoted exclusively to health effects. This will help us to better understand the type, magnitude and severity of observed health effects of the Chernobyl accident and to be better prepared for their future evolution."
Dr Nakajima pointed out that five million people have been exposed to radioactive nuclides in the three most severely affected countries of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. "This has led so far to a sharp increase in thyroid cancer incidence, especially among children living in the radionuclides contaminated areas. An increase of about 100 times the pre-accident levels was recorded in the Gomel region of Belarus, immediately North of Chernobyl, and in the direct path of the initial radioactive fall-out cloud".
The Director-General reported no significant increase in the incidence of leukaemia or other blood disorders so far suggesting that the possible "evolution of these diseases would require long term studies and follow-up". For comparison, Japanese studies monitoring the health status of the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings clearly show a steep increase in the incidence after some 10 years following exposure to radiation.
Among other major post-Chernobyl problems Dr Nakajima singled out mental stress and other psycho-social effects experienced by the affected populations. "In particular", said he, "this has included anxiety over the possible ill-effects of radiation on their health in the long term. Originally, much fear and mistrust had occurred because of the lack of information immediately after the accident, which caused many psycho-somatic disorders".
Looking beyond the conference, Dr Nakajima proposed that "In the future, international cooperation must be maintained and enhanced to further improve our understanding and our ability to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The problems caused by radiological events are increasingly global and the role of the United Nations and its agencies is particularly important to ensure prevention, control, preparedness and rehabilitation".
Mr Yuzan Fujita, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, was elected President of the Conference. In his opening remarks, the Governor said:"Historians in the next generation may describe the second half of the 20th century as the nuclear age. Due to the tension between East and West, the threat of a nuclear war had concerned the whole human race. Although this threat has been reduced in the last decade due to easing of the tension, as long as nuclear weapons exist on earth, this is no guarantee that the agony that citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced will not be repeated again".
Major findings from the first phase of the International Programme on the Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident will be announced at the Conference. There will be panel discussions on thyroid diseases, blood disorders, psycho-social effects, basic research, acute radiation effects and epidemiology. Other radiological accidents apart from Chernobyl will also be addressed at the Conference. They include: the Kyshtym accident in the Urals in 1957 involving explosion of high-level radioactive waste tank and various incidents of exposure to radiation of workers and the public, such as the Goiania accident in Brazil in 1987.