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The
World Health Organisation's 1959 agreement with the International Atomic
Energy Agency has fettered its independence in addressing the public
health effects of a nuclear fallout, specifically in the case of the
Janette D Sherman 26
APRIL 2011 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Signed on 28 May 1959 at the 12th World Health Assembly, the agreement states: 'Whenever either organisation proposes to initiate a programme or activity on a subject in which the other organisation has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view to adjusting the matter by mutual agreement.' It continues: '[The IAEA and WHO] recognise that they may find it necessary to apply certain limitations for the safeguarding of confidential information furnished to them. They therefore agree that nothing in this agreement shall be construed as requiring either of them to furnish such information as would, in the judgment of the party possessing the information, constitute a violation of the confidence of any of its Members or anyone from whom it has received such information or otherwise interfere with the orderly conduct of its operations.' The WHO mandate is to look after the health of our planet, while the IAEA is to promote nuclear energy. In light of recent industrial failures involving nuclear power plants, many prominent scientists and public health officials have criticised WHO's non-competing relationship with the IAEA that has stymied efforts to address effects and disseminate information about the 1986 Chernobyl accident, so that current harm may be documented and future harm prevented. On the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl, WHO and the IAEA published the Chernobyl Forum Report, mentioning only 350 sources, mainly from the English literature, while in reality there are more than 30,000 publications and up to 170,000 sources that address the consequences of Chernobyl. After
waiting two decades for the findings of Chernobyl to be recognised by
the United Nations, three scientists, Alexey Yablokov from Russia, and
Vasily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko from Belarus, undertook the
task of collecting, abstracting and translating some 5,000 articles
reported by multiple scientists who observed first-hand the effects
from the fallout. These had been published largely in Slavic languages
and not previously available in translation. The result was The greatest amount of radioactivity fell outside of Belarus, Ukraine and European Russia, extending across the northern hemisphere as far away as Asia, North Africa, and North America, while the greatest concentrations continue to affect the 13 million living in Belarus, Ukraine, and European Russia. Immediately after the catastrophe, release of information was limited, and there was a delay in collecting data. WHO, supported by governments worldwide, could have been proactive and led the way to provide readily accessible information, but was not. These omissions resulted in several effects: limited monitoring of fallout levels, delays in getting stable potassium iodide to people, lack of care for many, and delay in prevention of contamination of the food supply. The number of victims is one of the most contentious issues between scientists who collected data first-hand and WHO/IAEA that estimated only 9,000 deaths. The
most detailed estimate of additional deaths was done in Given
that thyroid diseases caused such a toll, Key to understanding effects from nuclear fallout is the difference between external and internal radiation. While external radiation, as from x-rays, neutron, gamma and cosmic rays, can harm and kill, internal radiation (alpha and beta particles), when absorbed by ingestion and inhalation, becomes embedded in tissues and releases damaging energy in direct contact with tissues and cells, often for the lifetime of the person, animal or plant. To date, not every living system has been studied, but of those that have - animals, birds, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, insects, trees, plants, bacteria, viruses and humans - many with genetic instability across generations, all sustained changes, some permanent, and some fatal. Wild and domestic animals and birds developed abnormalities and diseases similar to those found in humans. It takes 10 decades for an isotope to completely decay; thus, with their approximately 30-year half-lives, Sr-90 and Cs-137 will take nearly three centuries before they have decayed, a mere blink of the eye when compared to Pu-239 with a half-life of 24,100 years. The
human and economic costs are enormous: in the first 25 years the direct
economic damage to When
a radiation release occurs we do not know in advance the part of the
biosphere it will contaminate, the animals, plants, and people that
will be affected, nor the amount or duration of harm. In many cases,
damage is random, depending upon the health, age, and status of development
and the amount, kind, and variety of radioactive contamination that
reaches humans, animals and plants. For this reason, international support
for research on the consequences of Janette
D Sherman, MD is the author of Life's Delicate Balance: Causes and Prevention
of Breast Cancer and Chemical Exposure and Disease, and is a specialist
in internal medicine and toxicology. She edited the book * |
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