ECRR European Committee on Radiation Risk
PRESS RELEASE - 11TH APRIL 2006
New Book reveals True Consequences of Chernobyl accident and shows that Millions will die of Cancer and other Illnesses.
The European Committee on Radiation Risk today published a new book on the objectively measured health effects of the Chernobyl accident.
ECRR2006-Chernobyl, 20 Years On is a review of the health consequences by eminent research scientists from several European countries and has been two years in the making. The book presents the results of translations and evaluations of the Russian language peer-review literature on the issue. The existence of this new book formed one basis of the Guardian article of Saturday March 25th 2006, “UN accused of ignoring 500,000 Chernobyl deaths.”
Dr Chris Busby, Scientific Secretary of the ECRR and co-editor of the new book with Prof Alexey Yablokov of the Russian Academy of Sciences remarks:
‘The health consequences of the Chernobyl accident have been the subject of considerable controversy and this continues even after 20 years of apparent study of the phenomena. As the book shows, the cover-up of the true situation began with the Soviet authorities who refused to permit radiation-associated illnesses to be registered. It continued with the totally reprehensible lack of investigation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) whose 1959 agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has constrained them into a bizarre inability to examine the true consequences of the radiation. This remarkable book presents reviews of over 700 Russian language reports of studies and shows the real meltdown of health both in the main affected areas and in wider Europe. The 2001 call by the European Parliament for a re-assessment of the radiation risk model in regard to the Chernobyl accident exposures has been answered by the European Committee. This book is the result.”
The conclusions given in this new book are that the health effects of the accident have been catastrophic. In addition, the newly discovered phenomenon of radiation induced ‘genomic instability’ is seen in its effects in the increases in incidence of a wide range of illnesses in the exposed populations, in adults and children but also in animals and in plants, giving the lie to the idea that these effects are due to social changes or ‘radiophobia’. The cancer death yield alone of the exposures is shown to be numbered in millions, but many will die of other illnesses including radiation induced ageing which is seen in children and is correlated with their measured radioisotope content.
ECRR2006-Chernobyl, 20 Years On; ISBN 1-897761-25-2 is published by Green Audit for the ECRR. For an account of the contents see attached .pdf file, also available on www.euradcom.org;
CONTACT: Dr Chris Busby +44 (0)1970-630215; +44 (0)7989428833 or email [email protected]
Note to Editors: Dr Busby, ECRR secretary, is a fellow of the University of Liverpool, a member of the recent UK DEFRA and DoH Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE), a member of the UK MoD Depleted Uranium Oversight Board and Science Policy Workpackage Leader for the (EU) Policy Information Network for Child Health and Environment (PINCHE) based in The Netherlands.
PRESS RELEASE - 11TH APRIL 2006
New Book reveals True Consequences of Chernobyl accident and shows that Millions will die of Cancer and other Illnesses.
The European Committee on Radiation Risk today published a new book on the objectively measured health effects of the Chernobyl accident.
ECRR2006-Chernobyl, 20 Years On is a review of the health consequences by eminent research scientists from several European countries and has been two years in the making. The book presents the results of translations and evaluations of the Russian language peer-review literature on the issue. The existence of this new book formed one basis of the Guardian article of Saturday March 25th 2006, “UN accused of ignoring 500,000 Chernobyl deaths.”
Dr Chris Busby, Scientific Secretary of the ECRR and co-editor of the new book with Prof Alexey Yablokov of the Russian Academy of Sciences remarks:
‘The health consequences of the Chernobyl accident have been the subject of considerable controversy and this continues even after 20 years of apparent study of the phenomena. As the book shows, the cover-up of the true situation began with the Soviet authorities who refused to permit radiation-associated illnesses to be registered. It continued with the totally reprehensible lack of investigation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) whose 1959 agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has constrained them into a bizarre inability to examine the true consequences of the radiation. This remarkable book presents reviews of over 700 Russian language reports of studies and shows the real meltdown of health both in the main affected areas and in wider Europe. The 2001 call by the European Parliament for a re-assessment of the radiation risk model in regard to the Chernobyl accident exposures has been answered by the European Committee. This book is the result.”
The conclusions given in this new book are that the health effects of the accident have been catastrophic. In addition, the newly discovered phenomenon of radiation induced ‘genomic instability’ is seen in its effects in the increases in incidence of a wide range of illnesses in the exposed populations, in adults and children but also in animals and in plants, giving the lie to the idea that these effects are due to social changes or ‘radiophobia’. The cancer death yield alone of the exposures is shown to be numbered in millions, but many will die of other illnesses including radiation induced ageing which is seen in children and is correlated with their measured radioisotope content.
ECRR2006-Chernobyl, 20 Years On; ISBN 1-897761-25-2 is published by Green Audit for the ECRR. For an account of the contents see attached .pdf file, also available on www.euradcom.org;
CONTACT: Dr Chris Busby +44 (0)1970-630215; +44 (0)7989428833 or email [email protected]
Note to Editors: Dr Busby, ECRR secretary, is a fellow of the University of Liverpool, a member of the recent UK DEFRA and DoH Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE), a member of the UK MoD Depleted Uranium Oversight Board and Science Policy Workpackage Leader for the (EU) Policy Information Network for Child Health and Environment (PINCHE) based in The Netherlands.