NH #422: Chernobyl Health Cover-Up, Lies by UN/WHO Exposed: Alison Katz, Independent WHO

Chernobyl liquidators in ineffective hazmat suits prepare to do battle with the nuclear monster unleashed.

NOTE: Technical difficulties have prevented the uploading of the second of two specials on the 40th anniversary of the Church Rock uranium tailings pond disaster on Navajo Nation. The program was lost near the end of the editing process; it will be reconstructed and made available for next week’s Nuclear Hotseat episode. Apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment this may have created.

This Week’s Featured Interview:

  • Chernobyl is again in the news as a result of the HBO series – but Nuclear Hotseat was there getting the truth about its impact on health years before that program even went into production. This is a classic Nuclear Hotseat episode, one of our most requested and downloaded:

    Alison Katz is a psychologist and sociologist who heads Independent WHO. The international watchdog group draws attention to the World Health Organization’s failure in its duty to protect those populations who are victims of radioactive contamination from Chernobyl and, later, Fukushima.  The group has held a vigil in front of WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, five days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., since April 26, 2007 – the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. 

    Given the HBO Chernobyl series visibility and popularity around the world, it seemed the right time to reintroduce this classic Nuclear Hotseat episode to an audience that either has not yet heard it, or wishes to have their understanding of Chernobyl’s devastating impacts refreshed. Originally recorded for Nuclear Hotseat #118, September 17, 2013.
Scenes from Independent WHO’s ongoing Chernobyl vigil in front of
the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

Chernobyl – Other Excellent Information Sources:

  • Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future by Kate Brown. Superb accounting of the health devastation of Chernobyl, constructed from over three years of investigation into medical archives in eastern Europe.
  • Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higgenbotham. NOTE: the author does a superb job reconstructing the horrors of Chernobyl, then goes full-on pro-nuke during the final chapter, citing statistics from only the pro-nuclear WHO, IAEA, and UNSCEAR. I recommend that you skip that chapter and read the rest of the book for its narrative of nuclear lies, miscalculations, cover-ups, and destruction of people and the environment. In particular, the description of the physical devastation of high level radiation exposure is comparable to the visuals provided in the HBO series.)