The impact of the world's worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 is reviewed within a framework of a triad of fear, rumour and truth. The scope of the accident, Soviet secrecy about it, and the lack of general awareness of, or disregard for, the effects of radiation created a fertile ground for persistent fears and rumours attributing any health problem to Chernobyl. Scientifically correct...

Chromosome painting has proven useful for the detection of chromosomal rearrangements, although the presence of cells containing clonal aberrations can have an effect on the outcome of cytogenetic analyses (e.g. aberration frequency and chromosomal distribution studies). Cells with clonal chromosomal changes have been found in studies of both radiation-exposed Chernobyl cleanup workers ("liquid...

OBJECTIVES To determine the total cancer incidence in relation to a 5-year exposure to caesium-137 (137Cs) from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. METHODS A closed cohort was defined as all individuals living in the three most contaminated counties in mid-Sweden in 1986. Fallout of 137Cs was retrieved as a digital map from the Geological Survey of Sweden, demographic data from S...

The accident at the Chernobyl NPP on 26 April 1986 was the worst in the history of nuclear power. This catastrophe resulted in massive contamination of the area necessitating evacuation of the population, an extensive clean-up and construction of sarcophagus. This clean-up and construction activity was accomplished by approximately 600000 workers from former Soviet Union. Exposures were from ra...

Exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with increasing risk of various types of hematological malignancies. The results of major studies on association of leukemias and radiation exposure of large populations in Japan and in Ukraine are analyzed. The patterns of different types of leukemia in 295 Chernobyl clean-up workers diagnosed according to the criteria of up-to-date World Health Org...

The nuclear accident occurred at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) (March 11, 2011) similarly to the accident at the Chernobyl NPP (April 26, 1986) is related to the level 7 of the INES. It is of interest to make an analysis of the radionuclide composition of the fallout following the both accidents. The results of the spectrometric measurements were used in that comparative analysis...

The reactor accident at Chernobyl caught many European nations by surprise since most risk management institutions were unprepared for an accident of the magnitude and transnational character of Chernobyl. Although confusion and contradictory advice from these institutions dominated the risk management efforts in the early aftermath of the disaster, the dose savings achieved by protective actio...

The Chernobyl accident in the nuclear power plant on 26th April 1986 was followed by numerous publications overestimating the medical consequences of the disaster. In the publications, interpretations of spontaneous diseases as radiation-induced, indication of radioactivity or dose levels without confrontation with the natural radiation background, or conclusions about incidence increase withou...

There is a consensus that Chernobyl accident has induced thyroid cancer increase in children and adolescents. The UNSCEAR report concluded that no somatic disorders other than thyroid cancer were caused by radiation exposure due to the accident except for acute radiation sickness occurred to the people within the Power Plant at the time of the accident. A hypothesis is discussed in this paper t...

The fallout radioisotope Cs is widely used to study rates and patterns of soil redistribution. This method requires the knowledge about the initial fallout of cesium in the study area. This paper describes the method of establishing the initial fallout of cesium for a study area which is contaminated by Chernobyl fallout. The study was carried out on the loess area near the Ujazd village (South...