On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:38:03 +0100, "LSR" wrote:

mogga wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:32:40 +0100, "LSR" wrote:

"Horizon" on BBC2 yesterday was pretty interesting . Tens of
thousands of deaths were predicted from Chernobyl using the standard
model, which extrapolates from the high exposures of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. In fact there have been well under 100 deaths (I think it
was 47). There has been no increases in leukemia, and the local
wildlife is thriving in spite of constant exposure for 20 years now..

The conclusion was that low radiation exposure was at worst harmless
and might even be beneficial, as certain protective genes are
"turned on".

Was it sponsored by BNFL?

No, by the Chernobyl Forum, "an international organisation of scientific
bodies including a number of UN agencies". Link he
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5173310.stm

(nb no. of deaths is 56, not 47)

Still, don't let the facts get in the way...

Are we really confident that the death statistics are correct? I'm
sure the authorities there would anxious to minimize the bad
publicity.

Mark