Chernobyl Health Article

1. When was the article published?
Wednesday, May 10, 2000.

2. Why will some restrictions on food continue in the United Kingdom and former Soviet Union for another 50 years?
They found that the environment is not cleaning itself as fast as previously thought, and that radioactivity can be released to the soil again after it has been absorbed.

3. Where have high levels of radioactive cesium been measured?
In terrestrial vegetation and in lake water.

4. What happened to the levels of radioactive cesium during the first 5 years after the Chernobyl accident?
Levels of radioactivity from the Chernobyl explosion in 1986 remain unexpectedly high in some parts of northern Europe.

5. Describe why the levels of radioactive cesium are not decreasing anymore.
Concentrations of radioactive cesium in most food and water decreased by a factor of 10, but in the last few years they have changed very little.

6. Why is diffusion of radioactive cesium back into the environment occurring? Explain the physical behind the diffusion.
As that balance changes, the gradient levels out, and the difference between take-up and release alters.

7. How long will the United Kingdom have to continue restrictions on sheep from the Cumbria region as a food item for humans?
The restrictions may be needed for another 10 to 15 years which is which is 100 times longer than estimated.


8. How long will forest berries, fungi, and fish from parts of the former Soviet Union remain restricted?
And forest berries, fungi and fish from parts of the former Soviet Union will remain restricted for another half century.

PAGE 2

1. Who are the children that this article is about? To whom were they born?
The children who were mutated. The parents were some of the people who cleaned up the reactor.

2. What are “Liquidators?”
Members of the clean-up teams sent in after the reactor exploded.

3. Why are the scientists studying the children?
For the DNA changes from radiation doses.

4. What are this controls in this study?
The children's siblings who had been conceived before their parents' exposure served as internal controls, in addition to external controls from families who had not been exposed.

5. Describe what scientists discovered about the children’s DNA.
Results indicate that low doses of radiation can induce multiple changes in human germ line DNA.

6. Describe the factors that may be linked to the number of DNA changes observed in children.
They also found several factors linked to decreasing changes: the passage of time between exposure and conception, and also the duration of the liquidators' work in the contaminated area.

PAGE 3

1. Describe what happens to DNA, cells, and organs after low and high doses of radiation.
If the damage to DNA is at a low dose rate, the cell may be able to repair most of the damage. If the damage is irreparable and severe enough to interfere with the cells function, the cell may die immediately or after several divisions.

2. Describe the acute health effects of the Chernobyl disaster.
All the acute deterministic health effects occurred among the personnel of the plant, or in those persons brought in for fire fighting and immediate clean-up operations.

3. Describe the chronic or late health effects of the Chernobyl disaster.
It has given rise to an increase in the incidence of thyroid cancers.