Data to Be Used in Report to U.N. : Soviets Test Thousands for Chernobyl Radiation

A leading Soviet scientist reported Sunday that “hundreds of thousands of people” have been screened for radiation sickness in the area around the site of last year’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.

Soviet researchers are closely studying the data, which will form the basis of a report to the United Nations on the various ramifications of the explosion in the power station, the scientist said.

The statement was made by Leonid A. Ilyin, vice president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, to the Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which is holding a four-day meeting in Moscow.

Ilyin, a specialist in radiation hygiene, said residents in the vicinity of Chernobyl and beyond have been examined for the presence of radioactivity in their bodies.

Film Maker a Victim

The atomic disaster killed more than 30 people, including Soviet film maker Vladimir Shevchenko, who directed a movie called “Chernobyl: A Chronicle of Difficult Leaks.” The director filmed soon after the nuclear reactor broke down and apparently was heavily exposed to the radiation.

He died two months ago, but his death was reported in the Soviet press only last week.

His movie, reported to be quite shocking, was shown at the recent Soviet Film Festival in Tbilisi but has yet to be publicly released.

Ilyin told the assembled physicians that 237 people have suffered radiation illness--in addition to those who died--as a result of the Chernobyl plant accident. However, he said, “not a single case had been detected outside the area of the nuclear power station”--though he did not spell out just how large that area is.

270,000 Food Samples

Ilyin said that 270,000 samples of food have been analyzed in the districts north of Chernobyl, but only 11% of them were found to be contaminated with radioactivity.

The infected products were either destroyed or “processed by means of special technology,” Ilyin said.

“The aftermath of the Chernobyl accident was coped with in peacetime and cannot even be compared with what will happen during a nuclear war, which would be a general catastrophe for mankind,” the scientist said.

“There will be as good as no physicians left to treat the victims because out of the 3 million doctors now working in the world, hundreds of thousands will be among those killed.

“Besides other misfortunes, death from starvation will be quick to come. According to experts, the planet’s population has only enough food reserves to last it for three months.”