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← Chernobyl: A Million Casualties
A million people have died so far as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, explains Janette Sherman, M.D., toxicologist and contributing editor of the book Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. Published by the New York Academy of Sciences, the book, authored by Dr. Alexey Yablokov, Dr. Vassily Nesterenko and Dr. Alexey Nesterenko, examined medical records now available--which expose as a lie the claim of the International Atomic Energy Commission that perhaps 4,000 people may die as a result of Chernobyl.
Enviro Close-Up # 610 (29 mintes)
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Showing Revision 1, created 06/20/2011 by Michael Cassady .
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Title:Chernobyl: A Million Casualties
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Description:
A million people have died so far as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, explains Janette Sherman, M.D., toxicologist and contributing editor of the book Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. Published by the New York Academy of Sciences, the book, authored by Dr. Alexey Yablokov, Dr. Vassily Nesterenko and Dr. Alexey Nesterenko, examined medical records now available--which expose as a lie the claim of the International Atomic Energy Commission that perhaps 4,000 people may die as a result of Chernobyl.
Enviro Close-Up # 610 (29 mintes) -
Chernobyl, a million casualties
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Next on Enviro Close-up
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Welome to Enviro-Close-up
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I am Karl Grossman
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This coming April 26th
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marks the 25th anniversary of
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the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster
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Meanwhile, the nuclear industry worldwide
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is pushing for a revival of nuclear power
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and this very important book has been published
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Title: "Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe..
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for People and the Environment"
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and, it concludes, based on now available medical data
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that, between 1986, the year of the accident,
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and 2004, 985,00 people died as the result
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of the disaster
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and more have been dying since.
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With us is Dr. Janet Sherman
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she's the contributing editor of this book
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which was authored by a noted Russian biologist
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Alexey Yablokov
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Vassily Nesterenko
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and Alexey Nesterenko,
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they're both from Belorussia
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Welcome Janet.
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How did these people die?
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I mean we're talking a million people dead
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from this nuclear accident. How?
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They died of multiple different kinds of diseases
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from cancer to heart disease, brain damage,
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thyroid cancer.
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But many children died in utero
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in other words before they were born
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or died of birth defects after they were born
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How did these scientists determine
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985,000 deaths as the result of Chernobyl?
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Based on medical data that were
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available to the scientists.
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Now what we've heard, frankly since the accident
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from the International Atomic Energy Agency
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which is the global group
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which is supposed to regulate
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and promote nuclear power
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the casualties of Chernobyl
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well currently, from IAEA, on its website
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says maybe, in all, there were 4,000 people dead.
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Now that's quite different from 985,000
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Why this discrepancy?
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Well, they released a report
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called the "Chernobyl Forum",
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and they only included about 350 articles
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available in the English language.
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But, Dr. Yablokov, and the two Nesterenkos
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looked at well over 5,000 articles
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and the people who were, excuse the term
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"boots on the ground"
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people who were there, who saw what was going on
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We're talking about medical doctors
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scientists, veterinarians, epidemiologist
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who saw what was happening
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when people in their communities
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were getting sick and dying.
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There's another international agency,
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the World Health Organization (WHO)
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and indeed the book charges
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the truth has not come out on Chernobyl
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from the WHO,
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and forget about the IAEA
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because of an agreement between these two agencies
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Can you elaborate on that agreement?
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They formed an agreement in 1959
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that has not been changed
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where one will not release a report
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without the agreement of the other.
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Now, this is like having Dracula guarding the blood-bank
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because the WHO who is charged with
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"world health organization"
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is beholden to the IAEA
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before they can release a report.
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And, what the IAEA, I mentioned before,
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is there to regulate nuclear technology
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around the world
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But, it is also set up to promote it.
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And, it evidently does not want anything from WHO
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which would indicate that nuclear power
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is not good for one's health.
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That's right, and this needs to be ended,
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this agreement needs to be stopped.
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Let me go right to you
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You've devoted your life to the impacts of poison
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That's been your specialty, a toxicologist.
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Here, your editing this book
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you're going through all this scientific data
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This has to be— a million dead of the Chernobyl accident —
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the biggest technological disaster,
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frankly, in the history of the world!
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True.
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How did you feel as you looked at the data
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and you put this book together?
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Well, I realized it was far worse than I thought it was
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and that, not only were, people dying of cancer
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and heart disease,
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but every single organ in the body,
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whether it was immunological, or lungs,
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or cataracts, or skin:
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Everything was adversely affected.
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But, not only people,
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every single system that was studied
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and not all were, but every system that was studied
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whether it was humans, or fish, or tress,
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or birds, bacteria, viruses, wolves, cows,
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Every system was changed,
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every single system, without exception.
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And, this was reflected in the book?
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It's not just human effects.
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Many of the birds and animals
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had similar adverse effects as humans
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Most people aren't familiar... We all know I think,
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at this point that radio-activity and cancer
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go together
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But heart problems, heart disease,
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how does that connect?
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Well, one of the most fascinating things
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that I learned when I was rewriting the text
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of the book, and going through all of the data,
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was one of the scientists, Bandeshevski (sic)
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had done a study that showed that the Cesium 137 levels
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in children were the same as he had found in test animals
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and were causing heart damage.
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He reported this,
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and for his work, he was put in prison
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He was put in prison?
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He was put in prison, yes.
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And, he analyzed... these are animals, that were...
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Well he did the original study on animals,
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and, then, as a pathologist, studying the results
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in children, and he found the same changes
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in the hearts of children, who had died,
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as he had seen in the animals.
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And, when he reported it
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his thanks was, he was arrested and put in prison.
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The radio activity from Chernobyl
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Russia, Belorussia, the Ukraine:
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these were three places where
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a lot of the radiation was deposited.
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But, according to this book,
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again based on data,
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those poisons came down all over the world.
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Yes, they did. And, the greatest concentrations
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came down in Belorussia, the Ukraine and Russia,
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but the greatest amount, more that 50 percent
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spread around the entire northern hemisphere.
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Particularly north into Scandinavia,
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and eastward into Asia.
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As far as China.
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Oh, yes.
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The book concludes, indeed,
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that the deaths, as a result of Chernobyl,
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occurred not just in Belorussia, Russia and the Ukraine,
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but all over.
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Oh, around the entire world, yes of course.
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How long will this continue?
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I mean, some of the poisons that were discharged
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they're going to be around for millennia?
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Oh yes, I mean just the two main ones
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Cesium 137 and Strontium 90
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have half-lives of about 30 years
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so they'll be around for three centuries at least,
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but many of the isotopes will be
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around for millennia, you're right.
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The book, however, stresses that
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the worst damage occurred in those early months
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particularly those early weeks,
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when the fire— there was this huge fire
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that they weren't able to put out.— that was blazing.
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Well yes, but still right now
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the reactor is leaking into the water supply,
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the structure that is around the reactor right now
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is not sound.
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And, if there is as much as a mild earth-quake
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there's a chance of it collapsing.
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So, this reactor is by no means covered up
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or safe, and not leaking.
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This book, telling the truth about Chernobyl
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was published by the New York Academy of Sciences
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a rather prestigious organization.
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What about the rest of the scientific establishment?
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What's been there, how can I put it,
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stance, their position, in getting this
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information out about Chernobyl?
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Well, some groups have been very
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interested in getting out the information.
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And, people allied with the nuclear industry
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would just as soon nobody knew anything about
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what's in that books.
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How did Dr. Yoblekov, and the Dr.s Nosterenko
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embark on this journey with you
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of looking into the impacts of Chernobyl?
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Well, they have been aware of
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the WHO and IAEA agreement, and actually
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there have been people 24/7 outside
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the WHO Geneva (Switzerland) headquarters
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trying to get this stopped, this agreement stopped.
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Have these people been demonstrating?
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Demonstrating, yes.
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Picketing because of this...
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(This agreement...)
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what the book describes as a collusive
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agreement between the IAEA and WhO.
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That's correct. Alexey Yoblokov was
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a consultant to both Gorbachev and Yelstin,
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on the Chernobyl issues,
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and, as you know, the data were covered up
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for about three years after Chernobyl happened,
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because the governments did not want
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anything to be known by people
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and they collected almost nothing
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in the way of data.
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Alexey became interested in that
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and started collecting information.
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I think there is something like 150,000 publications
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that have come out, and they utilized
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well over 5,000 in writing this books.
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Many of the sources in here have never been
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translated in English.
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Mostly were in the languages of
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Ukraine, Russia and Belorussia.
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So, this is entirely new informaiton
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that has not been available to the Western world,
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You talk about the impacts on people
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on animals, on plant life.
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Are the mechanisms different?
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No, essentially, the mechanisms are the same.
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Exposure to these radio-active isotopes
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are taken up by plants, birds, taken up by humans
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and damage the cells, kill some of the cells,
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damage the DNA, damage the genetic
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mechanisms of species.
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Now, if it kills the cell, then it's not
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going to go on to cause cancer,
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if it damages a cell, it can go on
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to cause cancer, or a birth defect,
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in a human, a bird, or even "birth defects" in plants.
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Plants have been altered by Chernobyl.
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Now, you just mentioned how the consequences
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were a lot toward the northwest,
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because the winds were blowing
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towards of all places Scandinavia, the Lapps,
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I mean people who had nothing to do
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with Chernobyl or nuclear power.
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They got hit.
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There was rain, there was fallout, and so forth.
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Speak about those consequences.
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A recent study has come out
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showing that children born in Scandinavia,
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at the time when the Chernobyl fallout occurred,
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are less likely to graduate from high-school.
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They have intellectual impairment.
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Probably the most serious consequence of Chernobyl
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that I'm aware of is that only 20% of children
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in Belorussia are considered healthy.
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That means 80% of the children in Belorussia
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are not well, compared to the data that they have
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of children before the Chernobyl accident,
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and they're medically not well,
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and they are intellectually below par.
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How would that... what would be the relationship there?
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Between radio-activity and a deterioration
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of intellectual capability?
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Well, while a mother is pregnant,
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she is eating food, and what happened, was
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most of the people did not know, or they did
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not have access to food that was not contaminated.
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These isotopes are taken into the body while
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a woman is pregnant.
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They are transported through her body
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to the unborn, and damage the heart, the lungs,
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the thyroids, the brains,
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all the tissues, the immunological system
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of these unborn.
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These children are born unwell, low birth weight.
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There was a very high fetal death rate
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as a result of these exposures.
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This is probably the greatest tragedy
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that could occur to a culture
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After the accident, from the Ukraine,
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which had been the break-basket of the
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former Soviet-Union, where Chernobyl was and is.
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In fact there's three units of the Chernobyl
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nuclear facility still in operation.
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In any case, that food moved around.
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Well, this is an extremely serious problem.
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How do you get enough food for people
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if the land is contaminated for three centuries?
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And, not only are you worried about grains,
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like wheat, or rye, but you also have to worry
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about mushrooms. It doesn't sound
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very important, but mushrooms are
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a very big part of the food supply in that area.
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And, these are extremely contaminated.
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The book concludes,
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based on 985,000 people dead,
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the data, however, just covers
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from 1986 to 2004.
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As we opened the program by mentioning
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a million casualties, would that be essentially
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the number that became victims of Chernobyl?
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I believe that's correct, that we will see that many.
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We know, for instance, that people called
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the liquidators.
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These were the young men and women
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who were recruited, largely from the military,
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from countries all around the area
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to go in to put out the fires,
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and contain the Chernobyl mess.
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15% of them have died.
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And, now these were young men and women,
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we're talking about between 18 and 30.
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Dr. Sherman, in terms of the amount
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of radio-activity emitted from the plant,
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there to is a big discrepancy between
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what's revealed in this book
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and what's been acknowledged up to now.
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Absolutely, and if a small amount was emitted,
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the we have to conclude that low levels
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of radiation are extremely damaging.
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And, if large levels were emitted, we have to
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understand how much damage has been done.
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But, we really don't know yet
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because nobody has been able to find out
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what is actually left in the reactor,
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that is leaking into the ground-water.
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What does this say about the safety
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of nuclear power?
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I mean, the nuclear industry, the nuclear
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establishment, because a lot of the nuclear
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industry involved government entities,
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a push is on to revive nuclear power, to create
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a nuclear Renaissance, to build many, many
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more nuclear power plants.
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What's the lesson of Chernobyl?
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I think the lesson of Chernobyl is
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we should be very careful before
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we push technology. I mean we were told
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that there was no problem with British Petroleum
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drilling in the Gulf of Mexico,
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There's one issue of technology,
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where engineers do certain things, but they
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don't understand the biology.
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They don't understand what's happening
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to life around these installations.
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And, I think Chernobyl is the biggest lesson
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of what is happened to all species
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that were contaminated. No exceptions.
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I mean, the book talks about Owls...
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could you elaborate upon some of the effects on animals?
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One of the scientists, whose photograph
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is on the book, is Tim Rousseau,
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form the University of South Carolina.
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He's led about 25 groups of scientists to
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the Chernobyl area
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and the have studied insects, and birds, and animals,
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and owls, and all kinds of different animals
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as tot what's going on.
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He said one of the trips he made,
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he suddenly realized there were no bees,
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and there was no fruit falling on the ground.
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And, he realized there was no fruit
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falling on the ground, because
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there were no bees that had pollenated the trees.
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So, he is predicting, and this may
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indeed happen, that there could be
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a complete loss of species around Chernobly
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as a result of these isotopes that are still decaying,
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that could wipe out entire species.
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I mean, you know, after all, it is a major
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bird transport area, migration area,
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and we don't know what's happening
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when the birds come through,
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eating whatever they can find on the ground
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and then flying on, dropping the berries
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further on after they have left the Chernobyl area.
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The genetic impacts.
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I mean rado-activity has an enormous
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effect on genes. Speak on that.
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These are unlikely to be improved.
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Once you get a genetic defect,
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it becomes transmitted
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generation after generation after generation
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so these defects, occurring in humans, in birds
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in plants, are unlikely to improve the species
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as they occur.
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What kinds of genetic defects
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are you speaking of?
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Well, in humans, were talking about
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brain defects, heart defects, limb defects,
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children without arms,
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hydrocephalic babies.
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In birds, we're looking at changes
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in the feathers, and in the beaks, and in
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their brain size.
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Talk about 'bird brains', these birds
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are not as smart.
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And they're not going to be able to function
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as well as the birds that are not changed.
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We know that the plants have been changed,
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irreversably.
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You know, this is not rocket science:
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we know where these isotopes go,
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we know that Iodine goes to the thyroid.
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We know that Strontium 90 goes
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to bones and teeth— particularly to the unborn.
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We know that Cesium 137 goes to
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the heart and to the muscles.
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This is not a mystery,
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and, if we know this, we can predict
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what the adverse effects are going to be.
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And, indeed, they turned out to be just that,
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and its shown, proven, in this book.
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This has to constitute one of the...well, the claim
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that just a few thousand people died
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as a result of Chernobyl disaster:
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One of the biggest lies in history, no?
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Absolutely, and they've been able
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get away with it.
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We need to put pressure on the WHO,
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and the United Nations,
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to separate the WHO from the IAEA.
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Not just on the international level
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with the International Atomic Energy Agency
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and the World Health Organization,
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here in the United States,
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the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has too
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tried to minimize the impacts of radio-activity.
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You're absolutely correct, and I can
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go back to the Atomic Energy Commission,
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before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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I worked for for the AEC, at the University
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of California, in 1952.
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That was my first job out of college.
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And, if I could figure out
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with my limited experience at that time
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and my limited education at that time
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that radiation was harmful,
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then other people could figure it out.
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We have had secrecy and lies
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to the American public, for decades,
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about the effects of nuclear radiation.
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There have been cover-ups,
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these has been falsification of data,
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There have been people who have said
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don't worry about a little Strontium 90,
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don't worry about deuterium
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coming out of the plant,
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We know that Davis Bessie (sic)
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almost melted, within an inch of its
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containment, as a result of its poor maintenance.
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And, I believe it's just a matter of time
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before we have another nuclear problem
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somewhere in the world
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if not in the United States.
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Well, why. You were within the nuclear establishment
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way back. We're talking about a half century ago.
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Does it have to do with money?
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Does it have to do with promoting
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a technology that these people
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are connected with— the nuclear scientists.
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Why the lying, why the deception?
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I think it has to do with many things, I think it's
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the money. And the control is on
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corporations who are promoting
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nuclear technology.
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But, we also have enormous
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scientific ignorance in this country,
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people who really don't understand biology.
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I think if I lined up 20 people
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let's say in a mall someplace, and said,
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"Put your hand over your liver."
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I'll bet you half of them couldn't do it.
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And, to explain to people what's happening
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with nuclear radiation. I think our
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educational system is so poor these days
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that children are not learning
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about biology, and physics and chemistry,
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and its essential because it such a major
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part of our culture and our economy.
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As you plowed through all this data,
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the consequences of Chernobyl,
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did the experience back decades ago
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connect in any way with what you were doing?
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Absolutely, I mean this has been know for decades
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the adverse effects of radio-activity.
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This is not something that has just occurred
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in the last couple of years.
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I mean scientists who have any knowledge
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whatsoever of physics, can figure out
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where an isotope is going to go
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in a body, or in a plant, or in a bird.
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I mean, this is not mysterious kinds of science.
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What does Chernobyl represent.
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I mean we're talking about a million dead.
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What does it represent in terms of
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technological history, or the current
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technological scene.
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What does it mean?
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I think it represents very strongly that
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we cannot depend on technology,
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nor can we depend on humans
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who operate and design this technology,
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because the ultimate failure is human failure,
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as it happened at Chernobyl.
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We're talking here about
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health consequences on
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the most massive of scales.
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Yes, indeed, around the entire
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northern hemisphere.
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Wherever the fallout was
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people ended up dead.
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They would up dead, and they wound up
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children who were grossly impaired
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intellectually and mecically, and this
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is going on. It hasn't stopped yet,
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it's still going on.
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Dr. Sherman, how can people get
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a copy of this book?
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They could contact me by e-mail.
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I am toxdoc.js@verizon.net.
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And, I hope to have information on how
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they can get copies of this book.
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Yes, I think it's very important, at this time,
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that people learn the truth
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about what happened as a result of
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the Chernobyl disaster.
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Thank you so much for doing this work Dr. Sherman.
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This has been Enviro-Close-up.
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I am Karl Grossman.
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Thank you for watching, and to get
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a copy of this, or any Enviro video program
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just visit our website
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at www.envirovideo.com.
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This program was taped on March 5th 2011
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six days before the nuclear disaster in japan
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began unfolding.
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The clear lesson of Chernobyl, and now
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the Japanese disaster: all nuclear plants
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should be shut down.
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They present a clear and present danger
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to life on Earth.
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No more nuclear plants should be built.
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Tax-payer subsides for nuclear power
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must be stopped, and we must embark
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immediately on an energy program of
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efficiency, and full implementation of
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solar, wind, geo-thermal, and other
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safe, clean energy technologies
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which are here today,
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and render deadly nuclear power
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completely unnecessary.