Recognizing the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER -- (Extensions of Remarks - April 06, 2006)

* Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I rise this afternoon to join Chairmen Hyde and Gallegly, Mr. Lantos and others in commemorating the Chernobyl disaster, a tragic event that has left a legacy of pain and suffering felt by the people of Ukraine and Belarus to this day. I welcome this resolution and especially its emphasis on encouraging national and international health organizations to focus their research on the public health consequences of Chernobyl.

* As Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I can recall the Commission hearing I chaired on the 10th anniversary of Chernobyl, at which witnesses, including then Ukrainian Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak offered compelling testimony addressing the health and demographic consequences of the world's worst nuclear disaster. I am pleased to inform colleagues that on the 25th of this month the Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing commemorating Chernobyl. I am pleased that Ukrainian Ambassador Shamshur has accepted my invitation to testify along with health experts and others.

* Madam Speaker, as a strong advocate of the health of all children, including the unborn, Chernobyl is of special concern.

* In Ukraine and Belarus, there is growing evidence of a steep increase in birth defects, especially an alarming 4-fold increase in spina bifida that has been documented by the Ukrainian-American Association for the Prevention of Birth Defects. Many other forms of birth defects have doubled since Chernobyl, including cataracts, deformed limbs and fingers, and cleft palates. Recent Israeli-Ukrainian studies have shown that children born to Chernobyl liquidators have a 7-fold increase in chromosome damage as compared to their siblings born prior to the Chernobyl disaster.

* Last year, I authored language that was included in the State Department Authorization Act authorizing funding for assistance to improve maternal and prenatal care, especially for thepurpose of helping prevent birth defects and pregnancy complications. The monies would be for individuals in the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine involved in the cleanup of the region affected by the Chernobyl disaster. We need to make sure that Chernobyl health studies and efforts to prevent birth defects through the distribution of folic acid and better prenatal care receive sufficient funding. These are funding priorities that I will continue to pursue.

* Madam Speaker, the public health research community was caught off guard by the massive 80-fold increase in thyroid cancer among Chernobyl children in Belarus in 1993, and the world community needs to remain vigilant for other forms of cancer that may begin to emerge now that the 20-year latency period has ended.

* We need to remember that the half-life of radioactive cesium is 30 years. Thousands of children are still being exposed to dangerously high levels of radionuclides in contaminated areas of southern Belarus and northern Ukraine, as well as far-flung areas in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe that also suffered from radioactive fallout. There is still much that remains to be done to overcome the devastating effects of Chernobyl, and it is important for the international community--both governments and nongovernmental organizations--to remember that Chernobyl is not just a Ukrainian, Belarusian or Russian problem. The fallout will require continued international attention and commitment.

* I also want to take this opportunity to commend the work of nongovernmental organizations that devote considerable time and effort in helping the victims of Chernobyl. One such organization is the Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund, which has worked tirelessly to provide state-of-the-art medical technology, physician training and humanitarian aid to give Ukrainian children a fighting chance to overcome cancer and leukemia.

* Finally, I welcome the resolution's support for continued U.S. assistance to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, the Shelter Implementation Plan, and other efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. We need to do everything possible to protect people and the environment from the large quantity of radioactive remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant even as we work to assist the victims of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

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