A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 5, 2006 issue, confirms children exposed to radioactive iodine and cesium from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster suffer higher rates of thyroid cancer. The higher the dosage at the time of the accident, the greater the chances they have, or will, develop thyroid cancer. Columbia University in New York researchers, who conducted the study, state that understanding the exposure to radiation is significant, because radioactive iodine is frequently used in medicine.

For additional information, here are past posts we have published regarding the Chernobyl nuclear disaster cancer risks and low-level nuclear radiation increases in cancer:

• TORCH: the other report on Chernobyl
• Greenpeace: Chernobyl cancer deaths grossly underestimated
• Tooth Fairy Project: low level radiation link to cancer

The Columbia University in New York researchers conclude with the statement, "We estimate that 75 percent of the thyroid cancer cases would have been avoided in the absence of radiation."

Compared to cancer rates in England and other parts of Wales, young women under 50 years of age living in the vicinity of the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in north Wales are diagnosed with breast cancer at a rate 15 times higher than the national averages.

For all other cancers, the rate is double was it is in other communities. The power plant is shut down but the effects from the radioactive waste are still being felt in cancer diagnosis.

On Saturday, June 10, Earl Spencer will host the Russian Midsummer Fantasy at Althorp, a charity event to raise funds in the official launch of a new foundation to help save the lives of Russian children diagnosed with cancer. The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation is named to honor the memory of the former First Lady of Russia's efforts to better life for children in Russia diagnosed with cancer. According to the newspaper reporting, Raisa Gorbachev had been a passionate fundraiser for better cancer treatment for children, using her husband's Nobel Peace Prize money and the royalties she received from the publication of her book to help buy supplies and equipment for the resource-starved hospitals throughout Russia.

It is said that the Russian Midsummer Fantasy will bring together politicians, celebrities and royalty including the former Soviet President Gorbachev, Earl Spencer, Tatler editor Geordie Greig, film mogul Harvey Weinstein, Madonna and the Lebedev family, who are part-owners of the Russian national airline Aeroflot. It's a start.

Raisa Gorbachev gave her time and money to the Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund, patronized the International Association Hematologists of the World for Children -- which helped introduce modern techniques of treating childhood leukemia in Russia -- and acted as a patron to Moscow Central Children's Hospital. After her efforts to improve access to cancer treatments needed for the children of Russia, Raisa lost her own life to leukemia. I was not able to locate a website for the new foundation, but when one becomes available, I will post information for anyone who might be interested in becoming involved or making a contribution.

Earlier this week, Greenpeace and 52 scientists issued a study stating that the long-term cancer effects of the Chernobyl disaster have been grossly underestimated by the International Atomic Energy Agency Chernobyl Forum, and released an independent report highlighting the grim realities. In another study, called The Other Report on Chernobyl, known as the TORCH study, two British scientists report that 20 years after the nuclear explosion, in what is referred to as the world's worst industrial accident, leukemia, breast cancers, bladder cancers, and kidney cancers in people exposed to the radiation fallout continue to be diagnosed in countries as far away as the UK.

Torch claims that more than half of the fallout from the explosion landed outside Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, contaminating about 34 per cent of the UK's surface. It reveals that there are still restrictions on 374 farms covering 750 square kilometers and 200,000 sheep in the UK. The Other Report on Chernobyl, TORCH, is a 91 page study available online as a PDF document. Its comprehensive information, including an explanation of why the figures have been downplayed, makes for a compelling read. We live on a very small planet, and what affects one area of our planet will eventually have an affect on other parts of the planet. The winds and weather patterns carried the Chernobyl power plant disaster worldwide.

"There are two compelling reasons why this tragedy must not be forgotten. First, if we forget Chernobyl, we increase the risk of more technological and environmental disasters in the future. Second, more than seven million of our fellow human beings do not have the luxury of forgetting. They are still suffering every day." -- Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General 2000

Greenpeace has issued a report stating the cancer death toll resulting from the Chernobyl disaster is grossly underestimated, and that the true figures will exceed a quarter of a million cancers cases, with over 100,000 fatal cancers. With the information compiled, Greenpeace and 52 scientists challenge the International Atomic Energy Agency Chernobyl Forum report as a gross simplification of the real experiences of human suffering.

In an effort to put faces on the statistical numbers, a new photography exhibit of victims will be traveling through 30 cities worldwide. Some of the photographs are featured online here. I will warn you though, the photographs of the children are especially heartbreaking and will disturb you.

According to a statement on the Greenpeace website, "These powerful images are a timely reminder that human lives are more than just  numbers. For each statistic there is a person paying the ultimate price. Anyone who doubts the dangers of nuclear power should visit the exhibition and see for themselves one of the reasons why we oppose nuclear power. Twenty years on, every nuclear power plant bears the legacy of  the nuclear industry's victims; and every nuclear power plant represents the threat of becoming the next Chernobyl."

The world is facing an energy crisis, and according to energy experts, it is not going to get better. But given the known dangers, are nuclear power plants the way to solve the problem?

Photo credit: Greenpeace. Elena, 19, is being treated for her second case of thyroid cancer in just 3 years.

The Tooth Fairy Project is part of the Radiation and Public Health Project, RPHP, study into the relationship between low-level nuclear radiation and worldwide increases in cancer. Concerning America's cancer epidemic, RPHP has analyzed official National Cancer Institute, age-adjusted, breast and prostate cancer mortality rates, available since 1950 for every county in the United States, and demonstrated highly significant correlations between high cancer death rates and proximity to nuclear reactors.

RPHP research shows that of the over 3,000 counties in the United States, women living in about 1,300 nuclear counties, within 100 miles of a reactor, are at the greatest risk of dying of breast cancer.

The RPHP Tooth Fairy Project examines the levels of Radioactive Strontium-90, Sr-90, in teeth donated to the project. The chemical structure of Sr-90 is so similar to that of calcium that the body gets fooled and deposits Sr-90 in the bones and teeth where it remains, continually emitting cancer-causing radiation. According to the research, "Most of the strontium in baby teeth is transferred to the fetus by the mother during pregnancy. Because we know when and where the baby was born, and where the mother lived while carrying, we can accurately determine when and where radioactivity was absorbed from the environment."

RPHP has the support of scientists, physicians and citizens directly affected by proximity to nuclear power plants. In an endorsement for RPHP's work, Dr. Patch Adams writes, "As a scientist and physician for 35 years, I am well aware of the research in low-level radiation. We clearly have political leaders indifferent to and ignorant of the consequences. For twenty years I've gone yearly to the hospitals of Russia and have seen first hand the horrors of Chernobyl." RPHP offers a wealth of information and resources regarding low-level, nuclear radiation to cancer.