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Asked by anon-201899 to Sophia, Sarah, Meirin, George, Emily, Andy on 5 Mar 2019.
Question: can the effects of radiation on the people of Chernobyl can ever be reversed
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Andy Buckley answered on 5 Mar 2019:
Serious radiation illness cannot be reversed as I understand it, although effects can be reduced. But we should always be clear about what we’re discussing: the effect at Chernobyl was overwhelmingly on those in the area at the time of the incident. The effects on those, and the continuing population, have been studied, most notably by the UN Sci Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation: http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/chernobyl.html Regarding those beyond the 30 who died in the incident, the 100 or so injured, and the 6000 or so in the area at the time whose injuries became obvious later, the report summary says:
“There is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure two decades after the accident. There is no scientific evidence of increases in overall cancer incidence or mortality rates or in rates of non-malignant disorders that could be related to radiation exposure. The incidence of leukaemia in the general population, one of the main concerns owing to the shorter time expected between exposure and its occurrence compared with solid cancers, does not appear to be elevated. Although those most highly exposed individuals are at an increased risk of radiation-associated effects, the great majority of the population is not likely to experience serious health consequences as a result of radiation from the Chernobyl accident.”
The WHO also has a report: https://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/backgrounder/en/
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Sarah O'Sullivan answered on 5 Mar 2019:
This is a very good question! There’s been lots of studies looking at whether the incidence of cancers and radiation related illnesses have changed in the area over Ukraine and Belarus, which were the most affected by the radiation release at Chernobyl. There’s lots of issues around this, as the doses the people received were of a level that it can’t be said with certainty if dose X causes cancer Y.
However, once a dose is received, there’s medical treatments that can help but it doesn’t reverse he effects on the patient. Although it can manage the initial symptoms, it doesn’t take away the risk factor for future effects like genetic mutations or cancer. It’s a complicated area!
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Emily Lewis answered on 8 Mar 2019:
As Andy says, if someone gets exposed to a huge dose of radiation there isn’t anything we can do to fully cure them, just try and reduce the effect. This only happens if someone gets really close to a very dangerous source.
Chernobyl, in addition to the initial exposure to the workers, also released some radioactive material into the environment. So we were worried that it would affect the general population. Luckily this was not the case.
Comments
Emily commented on :
But I suggest you read about it yourself, please don’t take our word for it!
Also bear in mind that there is a lot of bias on both sides, so it would be best to read a lot of varied sources then make your own mind up.