Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

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Natural processas of decay have reduced the levels of the released radiation to about 15 or 20% of
the original levels. Further reductions In levels of radiation wH be slow. The most intense and damaging
doees occurred In the period immediately after the acddertt.
The health risks associated with exposure to radiation from the accident has not been eliminated; it
has been greatly reduced.
There are also risks that resJt from past exposures.
The popuiatkin at greatest risk are the small
chidren who received thyroU radiatk>n exposures due to kxline immediately after the accUent, and the
1k]uUators' who worked on the site cleanup and emergency response actions after the accUenL
Using existing knowledge and technology, it Is possible to reduce future exposure and risk with
prudent cleanup activities. The level of risk is still high enough to justify these actions. The need for some
action such as containing, or isolating, major potential release sources such as the sarcophagus, the burial
pits wtwre the debris from the emergerxry cleanup actktn was taken, and the hot spots is obvious. The need
for other cleanup actk>ns must be addressed on a cost/benefit basis with the benefit criterion being the
greatest reductkxi In human heafth risk for avalable funds.
Prot)lems
The key problem in taking needed actkm is the lack of hard cun-ency.
The cleanup of the Chemobyl
accklent does not produce a revenue stream.
Intematkinal lending agencies and banks need to have a
revenue stream to provUe the funds to assure repayment of the loan if normal banking practices are used.
Unfortunately, measures to reduce the rerfalning health risks to the population do not provkJe such a
definable reveruje streanrt
Whie cleanup and risk reductkin have both a human and economic benefit. It
Is difficirit to quantify this benefit in conventk)nal *bankat>lit/ terms.
Needed Acttons
Ukrainian people, equipment, and currency provUe the vast majority of the resources required to dean
up Cf)emobyl. There are also needs that require external resources, such as technology. The work in the
sarcophagus, for Instance, cannot be done with people because the radiation exposures are too high,
(in
(act, much of the work ttiat has been done to date has been done by people working in radiatkxi fields that
wouM be unacceptable for people in the United States.)
Work must be done with remote devices and
robots, not people.
Only when the radiatkxi levels are reduced can people work in this area.
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