Birth defects have existed since the dawn of humanity. The main health result of Chernobyl has been a grim, fatalistic outlook on life.
The influence of the post-Chernobyl fallout on birth defects and abortion rates in Austria.
RESULTS: No significant changes in the incidence of birth defects, abortion rate, or counseling rate at pregnancy termination clinics were observed.
The problem is the accident didn’t occur in Austria. It occured in the Ukraine. Belarus is said to have been exposed to 70% of the radiation. Russia was also heavily radiated. The radiation released was estimated to be 200 times the combined radiation release of both atomic bombs dropped on Japan. The rate of thyroid cancer Gomel Oblast, Belarus has increased two hundred fold for children under 15 year old. That’s damning evidence of the dangers of radiation since healthy 15 year olds don’t develop cancer unless there is an external cause. One thing should be noted, though, Chernobyl didn’t have a containment structure and Chernobyl’s design was unstable to begin with, requiring no heavy water and graphite for moderation. They didn’t even have to use enriched urainium. So for those who are pushing nuclear power, I say fine. With the right configuration, we might never see an accident again. But as far as underestimating radiation exposure, I think that’s just stupid.