NH #720: SPECIAL: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Lies, Health Cover-Up by World Health Organization (WHO) Continues – Alison Katz, Independent WHO

(KEYSTONE COVER IMAGE). The wreckage of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine, shortly after the explosion and meltdown on April 26, 1986.
(ABOVE) Color shot of Chernobyl in the immediate aftermath of the explosion and meltdown. The fuzziness of the picture is due to radiation hitting the film and creating spots.

NOTE: I have recently experienced a major computer setback that is requiring excessive time and mental capacity to recover from. (I’ll explain once it’s in the past tense.) As we are hard upon the 39th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine on April 26, 1986, I believe it’s an appropriate time to revisit some hard truths about that nuclear reactor explosion and the long-denied, ongoing health impacts of that event.

Here, in a truly classic episode of Nuclear Hotseat, we bring you a full-length interview with Alison Katz, head of Independent WHO. Next week will feature a narrative recounting of the disaster, what it was like for people who experienced it, and a range of perspectives that continue to make Chernobyl an ongoing danger to people and the environment.

Hopefully I’ll have recovered from my computer meltdown by then.

This Week’s Featured Interview:

Chernobyl Lies, Health Cover-Up by World Health Organization (WHO) Revealed
Interview with Alison Katz, a psychologist and sociologist who heads Independent WHO. This international watchdog group draws attention to the World Health Organization’s failure in its duty to protect those populations that are victims of radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and, later, Fukushima.  The group held a vigil in front of WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, five days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning April 26, 2007 – the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster – and continuing until its 31st anniversary on April 26, 2017.  

Every working day, between 8am and 6pm, a relay of members of the IndependentWHO – Health and Nuclear collective demanded that WHO should assume its responsibilities, independent of the nuclear establishment. These silent demonstrators were also demanding that the truth be told about the short-term and long-term health damage suffered by all the victims of radioactivity, including those resulting from atmospheric military nuclear

Given the visibility and popularity of the 2019 HBO series on Chernobyl – it now ranks as the most seen television program in the world, ever – 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 the devastating impacts of the nuclear disaster refreshed. Originally recorded for Nuclear Hotseat #118, September 17, 2013, the material covered has in no way gone out of date.

Chernobyl Lies, Cover-Up by WHO – Other Excellent Information Sources:

Video produced by Independent WHO:

• 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 this nuclear disaster, but 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 put your tongue firmly in your cheek for 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 exceeds the power of the visuals provided in the HBO series.