press conference on United Nations system activities in chernobyl-affected areas

The health impacts in the three areas most affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 21 years ago were much less severe than previously assumed, according to recent scientific findings, a top United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official said today.

However, 21 years after the worst disaster in the history of the nuclear-power industry, its impacts still lingered, said Cihan Sultanoglu, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Deputy Director of its Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), during a Headquarters press conference on the occasion of the General Assembly’s consideration of a draft resolution on Chernobyl.

Although 330,000 people had been relocated, 5 million people still living in areas of Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine were still classified as “contaminated” with radionuclides from the April 1986 accident, which caused a huge release of radioactive material over large areas of the former Soviet Union and Europe.  Those areas still faced many challenges, such as unemployment and emigration, not least because people in the region had been treated as victims for 20 years, creating a culture of dependency, apathy and fatalism.

She said the emphasis of assistance had, therefore, shifted from disaster relief to rehabilitation and sustainable development and the United Nations was now helping the three Governments to promote self-reliance.  Experience had shown that with a little help, communities in the areas could stand on their own feet and that was why, in 2004, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan had designated UNDP the coordinating entity for recovery efforts.

The draft resolution (document A/62/L.12) introduced in the General Assembly today embraced the development approach and would proclaim the third decade after the disaster (2006-2016) as the “Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development of the Affected Regions”, with UNDP drafting an action plan for that Decade.  The text would underline the importance of conveying reassurance regarding the health impacts of radiation.  There were a lot of unfounded myths about radiation, which caused fatalism among residents, whereas alcoholism and smoking were greater health hazards.  The text would also welcome the appointment of star tennis player Maria Sharapova as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for post-Chernobyl recovery efforts, and the transfer of the Chernobyl reactor and its surroundings to a stable and environmentally safe site.

She said that, with the resolution as guideline and framework, UNDP would remain active in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the three priority fronts of communities, provision of information, and policy advice and advocacy.  In Ukraine, the UNDP Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme had created jobs and encouraged local activism.  In the Russian Federation, the Programme had helped establish a business promotion centre and microcredit.  In Belarus, the agency was part of the Cooperation for Rehabilitation Programme that promoted a participatory approach.  There were grounds for optimism in all affected communities and the “legacy of despair” was changing into hope for prosperity and health.

Answering questions, she said there were indeed “restricted zones” around the reactor that were not accessible and would never be used for agricultural purposes, but agriculture in the affected regions was possible.  Belarus was focusing on potatoes resistant to radiation and biofuel was also a possibility for the region since rapeseed could produce clean oil.  However, marketing that produce could be a problem.  There was, therefore, a need for good information that also emphasized the reliable monitoring of such produce.  Five million people lived in the most affected areas, and they did not have to be relocated.  It was possible to live a healthy life in those places.

She added that people wished to continue living in the area and those previously evacuated were returning.  There was now much better monitoring and people could bring their produce to stations where they were tested.  Most contaminated food came from gathering mushrooms and berries, but nothing left the regions untested.

Accompanying Ms. Sultanoglu was Louisa Vinton, Senior Programme Manager and Team Leader of the UNDP Western CIS and Caucasus Regional Bureau, who said the 2005 United Nations Chernobyl Forum, a joint initiative of eight agencies and the three most-affected countries had concluded that radiation levels in the region were now equal to natural background radiation levels found elsewhere.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had developed monitoring technologies to ensure safety and it was important to get accurate information out to consumers.  Investment policies were part of overall Government policies, and investment in biofuels and agriculture offered good opportunities.  Ecotourism had also been proposed as some areas had remained “unspoiled” for 20 years.  The three affected countries had shown robust economic growth over the last years, which was important for development.

In response to questions about preventing the recurrence of a similar disaster, Ms. Sultanoglu said Chernobyl-type reactors no longer existed.  Lessons had been learned and IAEA was working on provisional safety regulations that would ensure such a disaster never happened again.

Asked about accurate information, she said UNDP had sponsored the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN), one of the elements of which was to identify the kind of information people needed, how they wished to get it, what sources would be acceptable and how people could organize their lives on the basis of that information.  UNDP was currently working on implementing ICRIN’s recommendations.  The 2005 Chernobyl Forum, the most authoritative study done in the field, had combined the efforts of eight United Nations agencies, the three Governments and major international and national scientists.

Ms. Vinton added that studies had concluded that the biggest health threat was not radiation, but rather the fear of it, caused by irrational fear and stress because of the myths surrounding radiation.  They should understand that what they needed to worry about were the very real health threats that were so pronounced in the former Soviet Union:  alcoholism; tobacco use; poor diet; and lack of exercise.

She said there was a two-pronged approach to information:  reassurance and making personal efforts to get healthier, neither of which had anything to do with radiation.  While that approach sounded “basic”, the former Soviet Union, primarily the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine, were facing an unprecedented mortality crisis among adult men.  Addressing those health threats was as much a priority as getting out a message or reassurance about the impact of radiation.

Some 5,000 cases of thyroid cancer had been connected to the Chernobyl disaster, she said, noting that they had been caused by exposure to radioactive iodine, which had a very short “half life” so that the threat was gone within weeks.  The cancer cases had stemmed from the first six to eight weeks after the accident and concerned mostly children who had drunk milk from cows grazing in contaminated areas.  As thyroid cancer was highly treatable, only 15 cases had turned out to be fatal.

It was hard to attribute specific types of cancer to Chernobyl, she said, noting that one in four people -- both inside and outside the affected regions -- had developed cancer.  There had been no statistical increase in the number of cancers aside from thyroid cancer.  That information could be shocking, given previous media coverage, including stories about deformed babies.  There had indeed been a slight increase in deformities, in both affected and unaffected areas, which might also be attributable to alcoholism, a matter which must be addressed.  (For more information, visit www.undp.org/chernobyl.)

* *** *

For information media • not an official record