Jaworowski opined in 2010 that the Chernobyl accident was probably the worst possible catastrophe of a nuclear power station. It was the only such catastrophe since the advent of nuclear power 55 years ago. It resulted in a total meltdown of the reactor core, a vast emission of radionuclides, and early deaths of only 31 persons. Its enormous political, economic, social and psychological impact was mainly due to deeply rooted fear of radiation induced by the linear non-threshold hypothesis (LNT) assumption. It was a historic event that provided invaluable lessons for nuclear industry and risk philosophy. One of them is demonstration that counted per electricity units produced, early
Chernobyl fatalities amounted to 0.86 death/GWeyear), and they were 47 times lower than from hydroelectric stations (~40 deaths/GWeyear). The accident demonstrated that using the LNT assumption as a basis for protection measures and radiation dose limitations was counterproductive, and lead to sufferings and pauperization of millions of inhabitants of contaminated areas. The projections of thousands of late cancer deaths based on LNT, are in conflict with observations that in comparison with general population of Russia, a 15% to 30% deficit of solid cancer mortality was found among the Russian emergency workers, and a 5% deficit solid cancer incidence
among the population of most contaminated areas.
Ten days after two steam and hydrogen explosions blew up the Chernobyl nuclear reactor the fire that melted its core died out spontaneously. But the drama of this catastrophe still flourishes, nourished by politics, authorities, media and interest groups of ecologists, charitable organizations and scientists. It lives in the collective memory of the world and propagates real health, social and economic harm to millions of people in Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine. It is exploited in attempts to strangle development of atomic energy, the cleanest, safest and practically inexhaustible means to meet the worlds energy needs. The world’s uranium resources alone will suffice for the next 470,000 years (IAEA 2008).
Chernobyl was indeed a historic event, but it is the only nuclear power station disaster that ever resulted in an occupational death toll, albeit a comparatively small one. A vast environmental dispersion of radioactivity occurred that did not cause any scientifically confirmed fatalities in the general population. The worst harm to the population was caused not by radiation, and not to flesh, but to minds.
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