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CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT: 19 YEARS ON

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 26, (RIA Novosti) - The accident that occurred nineteen years ago today at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was a major 20th century radiation disaster that affected the lives of millions of people in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, RIA Novosti was told at the press-service of Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

In Russia, the radioactive pollution spread to more than 56,000 square kilometers of territory, including about two million hectares of farmlands and about a million hectares of forests. The Bryansk, Kaluga, Orel and Tula regions were worst-hit.

According to the ministry, at the moment of the disaster about three million people lived in the radiation-contaminated territories. Over the years that have passed more than 52,000 people have been relocated or moved away themselves.

"It is obvious that the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster might have been far greater if it had not been for the courage of those who eliminated them. There were more than 200,000 clean-up workers," it was noted at the ministry.

According to the Russian State Medical Dosimetric Register (RGMDR), in which are entered more than 600,000 people, the percentage of clean-up workers having a clean bill of health has been steadily decreasing over the period of observation and towards the end of 2003 totaled about 2.5%. In 1986-1987, it was as high as 95%. At present 78.4% of them are suffering from chronic diseases and have the third health rating.

The total number of the disabled registered among clean-up workers in 2003 was more than 66,000 people, i.e. about one-third of the overall figure of such registered workers. Currently, first-category invalids make up 2.7% of the clean-up workers, and second- and third-group invalids 51.9% and 45.4%, respectively.

The overall number of clean-up workers in the main RGMDR data base who died towards the end of 2003 was 22,998. That is about 12.3% of the total number of clean-up workers registered in the RGMDR.

Speaking of health of the population living in the polluted areas, the ministry said that over the past five years the proportion of apparently healthy residents kept diminishing all the time and by the end of 2003 amounted to 17.8%. This compares with 27.5% of those with first-health rating in 1999. At present 59.1% of inhabitants of the polluted territories registered in the RGMDR are suffering from chronic diseases, while in 1999 the percentage was 43.3%.