Childhood thyroid cancers rise 10-fold in the Ukraine

A dramatic rise in the incidence of childhood thyroid cancers has been noted in the Ukraine in the years since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The nuclear accident, which occurred on 26 April 1986, involved a complete meltdown of the reactor at the Chernobyl atomic power plant An estimated 4-5.4310¹⁶ becquerels (150-200 million curies) of radioactive material, including radioactive iodine, were released into the environment within the first 10 days of the accident The highest concentration of radionuclides fell over the Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, though raised levels were found as far away as North …