The Ghosts of Chernobyl

[mastodon]

Many Thyroid Cancer Cases Linked to Chernobyl

Reuters - Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident, is linked to nearly 2,000 thyroid cancer cases, the largest number of cancers associated with a known cause on a specific date, scientists said on Tuesday.

Although it is 15 years since a cloud of radioactive dust spewed from the explosion of Chernobyl's number four reactor in 1986, new cases of cancer associated with the accident are still being reported.

"Four years after the accident, an excess of thyroid cancers was noted among children who had been exposed to fallout from the disaster," said Professor Dillwyn Williams of the Strangeways Research Laboratory at England's Cambridge University.

"That increase has continued and new cases are still being seen in those who were children at the time of the accident."

Williams told the ECCO 11 cancer conference in Lisbon that children are particularly sensitive to the cancer after exposure to radiation – the only established cause of thyroid cancer.

"Exposure to isotopes of iodine gives the thyroid over 1,000 times the average dose to the rest of the body. The particular sensitivity of children to thyroid cancer after radiation exposure can be linked to a combination of a higher thyroid dose and the biology of thyroid growth – which falls to a very low level in adult life," he said.

The radioactive cloud that erupted from the explosion in Ukraine contained inert xenon gas and caesium but the largest components were radioactive isotopes of iodine, according to Williams.

The thyroid is a gland at the base of the throat that absorbs iodine from the diet and produces hormones to keep the body running properly. Thyroid cancer is rare.

Dr Elaine Ron of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, said the risk of developing thyroid cancer could be highest 15 to 19 years after exposure.

If the theory is correct, many people who were children at the time of the explosion may still develop the illness.

Other research presented at the five-day meeting showed that the accident may also be linked to lung cancer.

Victor Chizhikov of the Cancer Research Centre in Moscow said 43 clean-up workers, both smokers and non-smokers, who had radioactive dust in their lungs after the accident had higher rates of lung cancer than a similar number of people who had not been exposed to the radioactive cloud.

About 8,000 doctors, scientists and nurses are attending the five-day cancer conference that began on Sunday.

[Sashenka]

For the obvious reason it was still forbidden subject to talk about 2,5 years ago,when I still was in Russia.My grandma leaves in Norovlya it was very close to Chernobil.We use to visit her every summer,including summer of 1986 and after.I had a lot of childhood fiends there.One of them was diagnosed with limfoma at age 21 in 1996,he is still battling his desease.Baby-boy of my girlfriend was diagnosed with lukemia when he was only 1,5 ,he died at age 3 - I was already in America,when I learned about his death.
When he was diagnosed,my girlfriend reseived the medical card with the number.The number was 12684/98(it was June of 1998)-it means that for the period of time beginning from January 1st of 1998 till May 1998 12684 children were diagnosed with cancer.I remember somebody saying that our children will pay for Chernobil's tragedy.So,they do.Meanwhile,son of a *****,Lukashenko puts extra taxes on organisations who deliver nessesary medical suppl. and eqpment for oncology-hospitals.He charges them even if they
just bypassing territory of Belarus.

[mastodon]

Originally posted by Sashenka
Meanwhile,son of a *****,Lukashenko puts extra taxes on organisations who deliver nessesary medical suppl. and eqpment for oncology-hospitals.He charges them even if they
just bypassing territory of Belarus.

I see you share my absolute hatred for Luka.

[Sashenka]

I think,people are sereously underestemate Luka,Buzka- whatever you want to call him.I had a chance here,in America,to meet Zenon Pozdnyak in one of the Belorussian churches,I assume,you know who he was,but for those who doesn't - he was the leader of the national opposit party "Narodni Front".Party is no longer exist,as well as it's newspapers,the leaders of the party,who came after Zenon left,magicly dissapiared and nobody knows where they are.Some of them were found dead,if I recall correctly, in river-Svisloch.
Luka was the president of Belarus ever since I can remember and ,from my understanding,he is not going anywhere,he has,what we call,absolut power over not only military forses, KGB,milizia,but over Constitution of Belarus(which he enjoys to rewrite occasionaly), Parlament,media.His last Parade on the May 9th(Victory day) was staged in the best traditions of J.Stalin,as well as so many other parades.
Always under his direct supervision.According to Lukashenko,
himself,the figure he admires the most is Hitler.It is very very scary.Mastodon,if you have something new on what is going on in Belarus right now - tell me,I can't really find
any articles or even magazines with publications on this subject,so far I could get only very few of them.I would really appriciate it.

[mastodon]

Shashenka:
I've had a long thread going on the Current Events board with many articles concerning the recent 'election' in Belorus.

Here's the link:
http://www.russia.com/forums/showthr...?threadid=3303