Chernobyl emissions linked to a variety of adverse health effects in the U.S

Until 1995, no disease-specific excesses in the U.S. associated with low-level fallout from the Chernobyl accident had been documented. However, several such connections have since been made for thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism, leukemia, and all cancers combined. Each unexpected increase occurred in infants and children, whose cell membranes and genetic material are most susceptible to the damages caused by radiation. We would expect that, in the future, similar trends will occur for adults in America. Each increase in disease rates is statistically linked with rises in radioactive substances present in the Chernobyl fallout. For example, thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism may be mostly the result of the rise in Iodine-131 or other radioactive iodine isotopes, which existed in greater concentrations in the American diet following the Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986. Although rates were elevated in mid-1986, they were only three to four times higher than normal; thus, the question arises whether very low levels of increased radioactivity in the American diet are causing excessive cases of disease and deaths for certain immune-related diseases. (orig.)