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Civil society activists appeal to Lukashenka to take comprehensive measures to protect population from radiation exposure

Civil society activists have appealed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka to “restore” a comprehensive system for the protection of the population from radiation exposure.

The appeal, sent earlier this week, says that the authorities’ failure to do justice to the scale of the Chernobyl nuclear accident has led to the significant contamination of the entire territory of the country.

More than 80 percent of radiation absorbed by the population comes from food, and the amount of contaminated food is on the increase, the activists say, citing findings of their examination that suggest that all people randomly selected in 24 districts bear a chronic radiation dose inside.

The group highlights concern about low radiation doses that it says also have extremely harmful health effects.

They mention “the rising number of infant deaths and underweight infants, the spread of chronic diseases among children, poor functional capabilities among more than two thirds of schoolchildren, a lower life expectancy, the increasing number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, cerebral paralysis disorders and cancers among young people, and a significant decrease in the amount of the population that has dwindled by 857,000 people since 1993.”

The activists suggest adopting tighter radiation safety standards for radioactively contaminated areas, develop efficient controls over radiation concentration in food, introduce new production technologies to ensure the production of clean food in Chernobyl-hit areas, improve medical services for the local population, develop medications preventing the intake of radionuclides and removing them from human bodies, restoring allowances for Chernobyl victims and establishing a center to protect children from radiation.

The appeal features signatures of representatives of the Center for Support of Chernobyl Initiatives chaired by Ivan Nikitchanka, a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Chernobyl Belarusian Social and Environmental Union and the Belarusian Committee of Chernobyl Children.

In October 2009, Dr. Nikitchanka appealed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka to adopt comprehensive measures to protect the population from radiation exposure better. He has not so far received any reply. //BelaPAN