Two leading Belarussian scientists who have studied the effects of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident 14 years ago say they are more serious than ever predicted. They say the effects on the body include heart problems, eye cataracts, digestive problems and development defects. The 1986 explosion at Chernobyl in the Ukraine has officially been blamed only for an increase in cases of thyroid cancer.
Professor Yuri Bandazhevsky who has researched the effect of radiation on the human body says the element Cesium 137 is causing many problems. Professor Bandazhevsky is a leading Belarussian medical scientist who last year was the subject of an Amnesty International campaign when he was held by the Belarussian authorities on alleged bribery charges. He told RTÉ News that Cesium 137 is entering the body through food grown on land contaminated by the Chernobyl accident. He said that ten years of research conducted by him shows that cesium effects the heart, the eyes, the immune system, the stomach and the nervous system.
Professor Vasily Nesterenko from the Belarus Institute of Radiation Safety in Minsk supports these findings. He says that all children with a certain level of cesium in their bodies are unhealthy. Children's bodies absorb radiation quicker than adults. He told RTÉ News that one in five people in Belarus have now been affected by the Chernobyl disaster. A quarter of the land is contaminated but much of it is still being farmed and produce is being eaten all over the country.
