Review of the book: Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth (Michele Kahn & Julia Sallabank, trans. University of Nebraska Press 1995). Introduction, foreword, list of illustrations, photographs. ISBN 0-8032-4912-8. [136 pp. Cloth $25.00; Paper $10.00. 312 N. 14th Street, Lincoln NE 68588-0484.

Gleason, John M.

English

UNH Scholars' Repository

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)Volume 8 | Number 2 Article 9March 1997Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl:The Forbidden TruthJohn M. GleasonFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/riskPart of the Nuclear Commons, Nuclear Engineering Commons, and the Occupational Healthand Industrial Hygiene CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Hampshire – School of Law at University of New HampshireScholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002) by an authorized editor of University ofNew Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact ellen.phillips@law.unh.edu.Repository CitationJohn M. Gleason, Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth, 8 RISK 201 (1997).Book ReviewsAlla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth (Michele Kahn &Julia Sallabank, trans. University of Nebraska Press 1995). Introduction,foreword, list of illustrations, photographs. ISBN 0-8032-4912-8. [136 pp. Cloth$25.00; Paper $10.00. 312 N. 14th Street, Lincoln NE 68588-0484.]From the Introduction and Foreword through eleven briefchapters, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth, is an in-depth look at oneof the biggest tragedies of the 20th Century. Written by an Ukranianjournalist who later was a member of the commission created by theSupreme Soviet to investigate this tragedy, her book examines failure ofSoviet and post-Soviet governments to protect the health of citizens inradiation-contaminated regions - and worse.In the Introduction, David R. Marples notes that evidence of amassive "cover-up" meant that the affected population, remainingignorant for three years, tilled irradiated soil and ate contaminatedfood. He condemns "failure to publicize the fact that more than 10,000people were hospitalized less than two weeks after the explosion.., orthat some 1,500 were diagnosed as having radiation sickness."1 Marplesalso notes that the government reports that 8,000 cleanup workers havedied, many workers who returned home are not included in follow-upmonitoring, and that the death toll continues to climb among the threemillion citizens living in affected areas.In the Foreword, John Gofman, a scientist studying the Chernobylaftermath, discusses "biomedical unknowledge" - findings that arethe opposite of truth regarding health and disease - and notes thatfinancially and politically powerful interests are eager for unknowledge.They have a radiation research wish list that includes these propositions:(1) a little radiation improves human health, (2) there is a radiationthreshold below which no bad health effects occur, and (3) slowdelivery of radiation (from accidents such as Chernobyl) is less harmfulthan what would occur in war. Gofman discusses nine Rules of Researchalleged to have been violated in nearly all epidemiological studies of1 At xiii.8 Risk. Health, Safety & Environment 201 [Spring 1997]radiation health effects. To ensure that Chernobyl studies do notfurther contribute to biomedical unknowledge, Gofman cautions thatthe public must avoid compromising control over input, processing, andanalysis of data by having an independent team of scientists monitorany studies.In Chapter 10, Yaroshinskaya lists 40, mind-numbing, secretprotocols of the Politburo's group that dealt with Chernobyl. Heclassifies their protocols as lies, e.g., that "clean" products can grow onradioactive land. Yaroshinskaya also presents a long list of calloushuman behavior. Here are some examples. First, senior civil servantsrushed their children to airports to remove them from danger, but onlydays after the April 26 accident, affected populations were permitted toengage in May Day activities. Second, when finally moved, someevacuees were relocated to quickly-built housing, much constructed onradioactive land, without stoves or ovens. Third, lacking funds torenovate a decrepit hospital at Obikhodi, a new building for the villageSoviet could nevertheless be built across the street. Last, to achieve"equalization of internal levels of radioactivity," contaminated food wasshipped to other parts of the Soviet Union to avoid destroying it - onthe apparent premise that, if highly contaminated products are spreadaround, no one would be too badly affectedThis book can be read in a few hours; I recommend it to anyoneinterested in issues such those it addresses. However, the book is notwell produced. For example, indented paragraphs are mixed with onesthat are not, and typesizes change for a line or two within paragraphs.One expects better quality from a university press.John M. Gleasontt Dr. Gleason is Professor of Decision Sciences, College of BusinessAdministration, US WEST Technology Fellow and Fellow in the Center for HealthPolicy and Ethics, Creighton University. He holds a B.S. (mathematics) and M.B.A.,University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a D.B.A., Indiana University GraduateSchool of Business.

Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth

University of New Hampshire

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)
Volume 8 | Number 2 Article 9
March 1997
Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl:
The Forbidden Truth
John M. Gleason
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/risk
Part of the Nuclear Commons, Nuclear Engineering Commons, and the Occupational Health
and Industrial Hygiene Commons
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Hampshire – School of Law at University of New Hampshire
Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002) by an authorized editor of University of
New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact ellen.phillips@law.unh.edu.
Repository Citation
John M. Gleason, Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth, 8 RISK 201 (1997).
Book Reviews
Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth (Michele Kahn &
Julia Sallabank, trans. University of Nebraska Press 1995). Introduction,
foreword, list of illustrations, photographs. ISBN 0-8032-4912-8. [136 pp. Cloth
$25.00; Paper $10.00. 312 N. 14th Street, Lincoln NE 68588-0484.]
From the Introduction and Foreword through eleven brief
chapters, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth, is an in-depth look at one
of the biggest tragedies of the 20th Century. Written by an Ukranian
journalist who later was a member of the commission created by the
Supreme Soviet to investigate this tragedy, her book examines failure of
Soviet and post-Soviet governments to protect the health of citizens in
radiation-contaminated regions - and worse.
In the Introduction, David R. Marples notes that evidence of a
massive "cover-up" meant that the affected population, remaining
ignorant for three years, tilled irradiated soil and ate contaminated
food. He condemns "failure to publicize the fact that more than 10,000
people were hospitalized less than two weeks after the explosion.., or
that some 1,500 were diagnosed as having radiation sickness."1 Marples
also notes that the government reports that 8,000 cleanup workers have
died, many workers who returned home are not included in follow-up
monitoring, and that the death toll continues to climb among the three
million citizens living in affected areas.
In the Foreword, John Gofman, a scientist studying the Chernobyl
aftermath, discusses "biomedical unknowledge" - findings that are
the opposite of truth regarding health and disease - and notes that
financially and politically powerful interests are eager for unknowledge.
They have a radiation research wish list that includes these propositions:
(1) a little radiation improves human health, (2) there is a radiation
threshold below which no bad health effects occur, and (3) slow
delivery of radiation (from accidents such as Chernobyl) is less harmful
than what would occur in war. Gofman discusses nine Rules of Research
alleged to have been violated in nearly all epidemiological studies of
1 At xiii.
8 Risk. Health, Safety & Environment 201 [Spring 1997]
radiation health effects. To ensure that Chernobyl studies do not
further contribute to biomedical unknowledge, Gofman cautions that
the public must avoid compromising control over input, processing, and
analysis of data by having an independent team of scientists monitor
any studies.
In Chapter 10, Yaroshinskaya lists 40, mind-numbing, secret
protocols of the Politburo's group that dealt with Chernobyl. He
classifies their protocols as lies, e.g., that "clean" products can grow on
radioactive land. Yaroshinskaya also presents a long list of callous
human behavior. Here are some examples. First, senior civil servants
rushed their children to airports to remove them from danger, but only
days after the April 26 accident, affected populations were permitted to
engage in May Day activities. Second, when finally moved, some
evacuees were relocated to quickly-built housing, much constructed on
radioactive land, without stoves or ovens. Third, lacking funds to
renovate a decrepit hospital at Obikhodi, a new building for the village
Soviet could nevertheless be built across the street. Last, to achieve
"equalization of internal levels of radioactivity," contaminated food was
shipped to other parts of the Soviet Union to avoid destroying it - on
the apparent premise that, if highly contaminated products are spread
around, no one would be too badly affected
This book can be read in a few hours; I recommend it to anyone
interested in issues such those it addresses. However, the book is not
well produced. For example, indented paragraphs are mixed with ones
that are not, and typesizes change for a line or two within paragraphs.
One expects better quality from a university press.
John M. Gleasont
t Dr. Gleason is Professor of Decision Sciences, College of Business
Administration, US WEST Technology Fellow and Fellow in the Center for Health
Policy and Ethics, Creighton University. He holds a B.S. (mathematics) and M.B.A.,
University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a D.B.A., Indiana University Graduate
School of Business.


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Book Review of Alla Yaroshinskaya, Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth

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