A Correlation Between Radiation and Health Problems in Belarus

Abstract

An international authority on the effects of the Chernobyl' nuclear power station accident surveys the emerging controversy over the severity of its impact upon the health of the population of Belarus', the republic most seriously affected by the radiation release. A broad spectrum of assessments is analyzed, ranging from those which are inclined to attribute negligible health impacts to the disaster to those citing dramatic increases in the incidence of thyroid cancer among children in the most severely impacted oblasts as a possible precursor of significant long-term health risks to the population at large. 1 map, 1 table, 17 references.