Do we have a cancer epidemic after the Chernobyl outbreak? [WE EXPLAIN]

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On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl disaster took place. Soon after information from the USSR reached Poland, the mass administration of Lugol’s fluid to children and adults began. The black scenario was that the public would be severely hit by the effects of radiation. Cancer in children, thyroid cancer, even deformities. After 36 years, can we really say that the world has contracted “Chernobyl”?

1. The Chernobyl explosion is considered to be one of the greatest catastrophes of the XNUMXth century. The USSR authorities evacuated the population living in the vicinity of the power plant, and the zone remains closed to this day (until the attack on Ukraine, it was possible to visit it with a guide)
2. After the outbreak in Poland, citizens were given Lugol’s liquid, they were ordered to feed children only with powdered or condensed milk, and it was also forbidden to graze cattle
3. Scientists feared that radioactive air would contribute to the increase in cancer incidence. At the beginning of the XNUMXst century, this thesis was undermined by research, e.g. WHO, UN and UNICEF
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Chernobyl – what happened then?

The Chernobyl disaster, experts say, was the result of a failed test. Paradoxically, the idea was to increase the safety of the power plant in the event of an emergency. The experiment was supposed to last only a minute and was planned during the day. However, he was delayed, which was why the night shift was supposed to carry him out – people who had not been prepared for it in advance.

The action started at 1:23 am and quickly got out of hand. Emergency systems did not work, and even led to additional energy. A minute later, the first explosion occurred. After the second, graphite ignited (helps to control the operation of the reactor), which in turn led to an ejection of radioactive dust.

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36 hours after the Chernobyl explosion, the first message was issued to people living within 10 km of the reactor. In the following days, the authorities decided to forcibly evacuate the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. In total, approx. 350 thousand people were evacuated. residents.

A total of 31 people died as a result of the catastrophe itself (including employees and firefighters involved in extinguishing a fire at a nuclear power plant). Of the 106 people who received high doses of radiation (1300 to 5300 mSv) between 1987 and 2006, a total of 19 died (studies show, however, that only in three cases was there actually a link between the deaths and the Chernobyl explosion).

Chernobyl and Poland. Has radiation harmed our health?

Prof. Zbigniew Jaworowski, the late specialist in the field of radioactive contamination, from 1973 represented Poland in the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). It was he who informed the Polish government that the radioactivity of the air was increasing. He found out about the outbreak in the late afternoon of April 28, 1986 from BBC radio. Prof. Jaworowski took part in the conference during which what to do was discussed.

In an interview for Polityka, the professor emphasized that beta activity in the air was not dangerous, but radioactive iodine 131.

– It could have found its way into the milk, first of all, and from there to the thyroid glands of children. We had the fullness of spring then, so the farmers were already releasing the cows to the meadows contaminated with radioactive iodine from Chernobyl. Therefore, the most important message I wanted to convey to the authorities was: Children must be given stable iodine as soon as possible to protect them from thyroid cancer.

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Therefore, children began to be given Lugol’s solution, they were advised to drink only powdered or condensed milk. It was also forbidden to graze cattle.

– The rapid action of administering iodine, which began on April 29 in the afternoon, is set as a model for activities in the field of radiation protection. It was the largest preventive action in the history of medicine performed in such a short time. In just three days, 18,5 million people drank Lugol’s liquid, because the campaign covered not only children – added Prof. Jaworowski.

Prof. However, Jaworowski admitted in 2006 that the radiation dose that Poles received at that time was minimal. It does not matter to our health.

– I can say with full responsibility: nobody’s health in our country was in danger because of Chernobyl – said prof. Jaworowski. – Moreover, if I had the current knowledge of the scale of contamination and what exactly happened at the Chernobyl power plant, I would not even recommend giving Lugol’s to the public.

Chernobyl and cancer. Facts, myths, research

Prof. Jaworowski, referring to the report of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in 2000, stated that creating a zone within the Chernobyl nuclear power plant did not make sense. Moreover, the report also showed that the incidence of cancer and other radiation-related diseases did not increase among the population of Ukraine, Our Country and Belarus.

– There was, however, a huge increase in psychosomatic diseases – disorders of the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems. What does it mean? That people were terrified and still afraid of a threat that did not exist – added prof. Jaworowski.

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The expert, referring to the research conducted by UNSCEAR, WHO, UNDP, UNICEF and UN-OCHA from the beginning of the XNUMXst century, emphasized that the number of thyroid tumors among children has not increased at all due to the Chernobyl outbreak. They simply began to be better detectable as a result of scrupulous population surveys.

In the following years, more recent reports and research results on the effects of Chernobyl on human health were published, and the results were similar. Cancer is a scourge of the modern world. In Poland, malignant neoplasms are the second most common cause of death (after heart disease). But we are not dealing with the Chernobyl cancer pandemic.

– Based on reliable data (the most famous are UNSCEAR reports prepared by the United Nations) we can say today that the Chernobyl disaster did not affect the health of Poles and other Europeans to the extent that was feared at the time – says in an interview with Medonet, MD, member of the Polish Oncological Society. med. Natalia Piłat-Norkowska from the Lower Silesian Cancer Center in Wrocław. – In the public opinion, there are still many myths resulting, among others, from out of distrust of the authorities at that time. This leads to the questioning of information from even validated statistical and scientific data on this period.

However, the oncologist draws attention to the social and health consequences of the Chernobyl outbreak.

– 35 years after the catastrophe, we know that the scale of contamination in Poland was much smaller than expected – says Natalia Piłat-Norkowska. – Based on old statistics, for example, we know that in 1987 a slight increase in perinatal mortality was recorded in Belarus, Ukraine, Germany and Poland. It is suspected that the cesium 137 isotope may have been responsible, also released into the environment after the explosion. However, in studies conducted in the former Poznań Province and in north-eastern Poland, in which women who were pregnant in April 1986 were analyzed, the impact of the catastrophe on the course of pregnancy was not demonstrated. There have been many indirect, often very dramatic, socio-health consequences of this catastrophe throughout Europe. An example is the reduction in the number of births in 1987, resulting both from a delay in parental plans and an increase in the number of abortions related to the fear of ionizing radiation.

Lugol’s fluid and Hashimoto’s disease – a possible link

After the disaster in Poland, Lugol’s fluid was administered to the population on a massive scale. An action aimed at protecting the society could actually do more harm than good. Moreover, it can be seen in the statistics.

– After the disaster, it was recommended to eat the so-called Lugol’s fluid to saturate the thyroid with normal iodine before it can absorb the radioactive iodine isotope that was then released into the atmosphere. There are reports that this could lead to an increase in the amount of anti-thyroid antibodies responsible for an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s disease. Currently, this disease is observed frequently. Another reason for this, however, may be the salt iodization program implemented again in 1997 after a hiatus, hence caution should be exercised in clearly linking the effects of the catastrophe to current thyroid disease – adds Natalia Piłat-Norkowska.

Thyroid cancer and leukemia after Chernobyl. Current data

The greatest fears after the Chernobyl outbreak were related to thyroid cancer and leukemia. It was expected that they would begin to appear on a massive scale. However, this did not happen.

– Thyroid cancer is a relatively rare neoplasm, accounting for 4,1 percent. all cancers in women and 0,9 percent. in men. In fact, since the 80s, we have been observing a systematic increase in the incidence, but it is a global trend, especially observed in highly developed countries, and not only affecting countries neighboring with the former Soviet Union. First, by comparing the incidence, i.e. the number of new cases per 100. residents, we can see that in Poland this coefficient (for women is 17,4, and for men 4,0) is lower than in the United States (for women 21,1, and for men 7,3). Secondly, Following the statistics from the last century, we can see that the increase in the incidence occurred already in the years 1980-1985, ie in the years preceding the disaster. This growth is systematic without obvious sudden jumps, that is, without alarming increases that would be the cause of the catastrophe.

Unlike other cancers, thyroid cancer is relatively less serious.

– Most often, thyroid neoplasms have a good prognosis – explains the oncologist. – In the case of thyroid cancer, an important issue is also greater detection resulting from wider access to diagnostic tests – primarily USG, as the basic test for the assessment of the thyroid gland. Increased social awareness means that more often patients visit endocrinologists for the diagnosis of various ailments. Increased rates of thyroid cancer have indeed been reported in young people and children in Belarus and Ukraine near the Chernobyl County, but the exposure dose there was completely different in Poland.

Ionizing radiation was also expected to increase the number of leukemia patients.

— As for other neoplastic diseases that may be a consequence of exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation – primarily leukemia – such an increase has not been observed in Poland. Regarding the causes of neoplastic diseases, the main risk factors include those related to our lifestyle, i.e. those that we have a direct influence on. Increasing statistics are also influenced by an aging population and the greater availability of screening tests.

Also read:

1. The Chernobyl disaster. “When we were told the truth, there was a shock”
2. Acute radioactive syndrome: can Chernobyl soldiers have it?
3. equipment in Chernobyl. Experts warn: the risk of cancer is enormous