Hostages

Abstract

After 5 years, despite all the measures taken to ensure secrecy in all matters concerning the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe, including the radiation dose which the rectifiers received in the Zone and the actual radiation levels in the regions of “Strict Control”, a few rare articles began appearing in the press hinting at the actual living conditions of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

“Before the Chernobyl Accident in April 1986, there had never been an accident anywhere in the world which led to heavy contamination of a large agricultural area with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants.

“Regulations designed to ensure protection from radiation in the event of an accident at a nuclear power station have been adopted all over the world. These regulations lay down guidelines as to what should be done in the initial stages of an accident to protect the population. The measures that should be taken include restrictions on time spent outdoors, iodine treatment, and evacuation. However, one thing has never been specified. No precise figure has ever been stated for the radiation dose that would be permissible over a prolonged period (e.g., in the case of people living permanently in a contaminated area). The question has never had to be considered before.

“… one can state confidently that the proposed guideline, if observed, will guarantee that there will be no measurable increase in the incidence of cancers, genetic damage or birth defects caused by irradiation of the fetus.”

From the explanatory notes supplied by the USSR’s National Radiation Protection Commission working group which was set up to establish a safe “lifetime dose” for people living in contaminated areas, April 1989.