October 25, 1990

Recent events in the Persian Gulf have again triggered earnest discussion about energy conservation. Some discuss nuclear energy as an alternative. A new look at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster may dampen enthusiasm for this energy source.

It began April 26, 1986, when two explosions destroyed one of four nuclear power reactors at Chernobyl. Last June and July Kenlynn K. Schroeder, director of disaster response for Church World Service and Witness, visited Chernobyl with a team from the World Council of Churches (WCC). Team members included experts in radiation medicine, mental health and psychology and emergency management.

Soviet scientists estimated that about 7,000 kilograms (7.7 tons) of material containing 50 to 100 million curies of radioactive isotopes were released in the explosion -- 1,000 times the amount released at the Three Mile Island accident near Harrisburg, Pa. Materials in the nuclear cloud included up to 50 radioactive isotopes with half lives ranging from two hours to 24,000 years. (The half life of a radioactive isotope is the amount of time that it takes for one half of a given amount of the isotope to lose its radioactivity.) The radioactive materials fell more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the plant and in at least 20 countries.

On-site workers were immediately exposed to large amounts of radiation from the explosion and fire. Fifty of them received enough radiation to kill them within days. They experienced gastro-intestinal upsets, their immune systems were destroyed and they suffered burns and nervous disorders.

In addition to the plant workers and firefighters, some 200 others received very high doses of radiation. Even more received lesser doses of radiation from wind-blown fallout. Frank von Hippel, physicist at Princeton, predicts up to 135,000 cancer cases and 35,000 deaths due to Chernobyl. Some scientists believe the eventual cancer toll will be much higher.

Immediately after the accident, some 600,000 nuclear waste disposal workers commanded by the army worked in five-minute shifts. These "liquidators" later returned to their homes, but without a plan to follow up on their mental and physical health. It is now difficult to trace them, but thousands are dying and suicide rates are high.

"And now 2.2 million people of Byelorussia, about one-fourth the population, are subjected to a greater and unimaginable invisible catastrophe that has and will fill innocent people with horror for generations," said Schroeder. All land within an 18-mile radius of the accident will be contaminated for years. The soil contains cesium-137 and strontium-90, which, in turn, contaminate water and plant and animal systems.

Many villages have been relocated. But Vladimir Matyuchin, a physician interviewed by the WCC team, said, "Relocation alone will not solve the problem. The people have to be observed ... and we must help them for many years. The children born of these parents there at the time of the disaster deserve special attention."

Matyuchin encourages those in contaminated areas to take precautions: To eat meat of young cattle only; not to boil bones for soup; to put meat under running water for two hours, boil for 10 minutes and then replace the water before preparing to eat; to peel off a thick layer of vegetables before eating; to remove dust from houses and wet mop floors daily; to wash shoes and brush clothes daily; and to rinse mouths often.

Radiation emanating from the soil in these areas is not particularly harmful. The damage comes when contaminated food, water and dust enter the body and damage the genetic material of the cells causing cancer and anemia.

Even after people are resettled from sites near the disaster, two problems remain: What to do with the contaminated land and the structures on the land. Scientists say the land cannot be cultivated for at least 30 years. Removal and burial of contaminated soil, suppression of dust over large areas and covering contaminated areas with asphalt, gravel, chippings, sand or fresh earth has taken place in 786 population centers, reports Schroeder.

But there is too much contaminated soil to remove and no place to put it. Zhores A. Medvedev, a Soviet-born bio-chemist, told the team, "Ultimately the clean-up costs could exceed the Soviet Union's entire investment to date in its nuclear capacity."

Matyuchin told the group, "This is not just a Russian problem. We are in peacetime, yet there are 200 Chernobyls (nuclear ships) sailing around waiting for another accident to happen."

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Baptist Union of Byelorussia have given pastoral care and contributed funds to Chernobyl victims.

The Baptist Union has begun aid programs through international contacts.

Soviet church and WCC officials have agreed to create a fund which the Russian Orthodox Church can draw on for "physical, mental and spiritual needs of the Russian people affected by the Chernobyl disaster." They have also agreed to share any new information about the disaster with each other. The Russian Orthodox Church also wants to create a Christian ecological brotherhood because they believe it is Christians' duty to work for the integrity of creation.

Schroeder urges churches to call on their governments, international nuclear agencies and the Soviet government to commit "top priority resources, human and monetary, to clean the Soviet land from radiation so that it can be returned to the people to sustain their livelihood."

But clean-up is not enough, she says. "... human caused technological disasters are preventable... Therefore, churches must call on the governments and agencies involved to take actions for the preventing of this unspeakable horrible tragedy from ever occurring again on God's earth."