Abstract
The Chernobyl Record is a collection of documents relevant for practically all aspects of the Chernobyl accident. Eyewitness reports, photographs and excerpts of technical and scientific publications are all compiled to give a multi-faceted picture.
The introduction contains an informative description of early health effects due to acute radiation exposures. Concerning dose quantities related to low level or protracted exposures, the reader might prefer to read the original reports of the ICRP.
In the Chernobyl Record basic aspects of nuclear power reactors of type RBMK-1000 are presented together with maps and several pictures of the plant at Chernobyl - before and after the accident. The detailed reconstruction of the accident is enriched by several eyewitness reports. Many photographs and drawings illustrate the construction of the sarcophagus that was build to shield the environment from the radionuclides inside the demolished reactor. The environmental release of radionuclides during the accident and resulting radiation exposures are compared to the other major population exposures that occurred in the past sixty years. The use of nuclear power in the world is summarised and accidents that have happened in nuclear power plants are listed.
An overview of the early medical response to the Chernobyl accident provides reports of members of the medical staff involved. Methods of dose reconstruction are reviewed and dose estimates for the emergency worker are given. Histories of patients with acute radiation syndrome are followed-up. Psychological illnesses are frequently observed among the emergency workers. The evacuation and the resettlement of the population in the contaminated territories are again illustrated with many photographs.
Extensive information is given on the contamination of the environment and of foodstuffs, doses to the population, and on decontamination work. The discussion includes an overview of the development of radiation safety standards in the former USSR and compares it with internationally adopted standards.
For the population that continued to live in the contaminated territories, psychological and social problems have been reported in various surveys. An overview is given on studies of late health effects that are known to be related to exposures to ionising radiation, including brain damage in utero, mental retardation, reproductive health patterns, and haematological, thyroid and ocular diseases.
General aspects of radiation-induced cancer and risk specification are summarised. Subsequently, the increased thyroid cancer incidence rate among those who were exposed due to the Chernobyl accident during childhood or adolescence is described.
Finally, the book gives an informative insider view, the Legaslov testament, together with the comments of his widow. Valery Legaslov, the first deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow, died two years after the Chernobyl accident, and his personal experiences during the accident, together with a description of the problems in the USSR which contributed to the catastrophe, were published in 1988 in Pravda, and now translated for publication in theChernobyl Record.
In summary, the Chernobyl Record is worthwhile reading for the interested layman as well as for the expert who will find information in the book that is not easily accessible otherwise. Unfortunately, the author sometimes gets lost in an overwhelming number of details, and it is difficult for the reader to derive a clear general message. Smaller parts of the book are not fully adequate, e.g. the ICRP recommended dose limit of 1 mSv for the population is given and it is not made clear that this limit does not apply to an accidental situation. However, in total, theChernobyl Record is recommended as an historical overview with a unique collection of documents, and an extensive and useful list of relevant references.