PDF copy of 2009 book

Yablokov: Nonmalignant Diseases after Chernobyl 97in females as a result of internally incorporatedradionuclides (for a review see Bandazhevsky,1999) and also unexpected to observe contraryeffects of various radionuclides on therate of sexual maturation (Paramonova andNedvetskaya, 1993).5.6.1. Belarus1. From 1993 to 2003, there was a significantdelay in sexual maturation among girls from 10to 14 years of age born to irradiated parents(National Belarussian Report, 2006).2. Up until 2000 children born after thecatastrophe in heavily contaminated territorieshad more reproductive organ disorders thanthose born in less contaminated areas: fivefoldhigher for girls and threefold higher for boys(Nesterenko et al., 1993).3. In territories with heavy Chernobyl contamination,there are increased numbers ofchildren with sexual and physical developmentaldisorders related to hormone dysfunction—cortisol, thyroxin, and progesterone (Sharapov,2001; Reuters, 2000b).4. Abnormal development of genitalia anddelay in sexual development correlated withthe levels of radioactive contamination inthe Chechersk District, Gomel Province (5–70 Ci/km 2 ;Kulakovet al., 1997).5. Of 1,026,046 pregnant women examined,the level of urogenital tract disease was significantlyhigher in the more contaminated territories(Busuet et al., 2002).6. From 1991 to 2001, the incidence of gynecologicdiseases in fertile women in the contaminatedterritories was considerably increased, aswere the number of complication during pregnancyand birth (Belookaya et al., 2002).7. Increased gynecologic morbidity (includinganemia during pregnancy and postnatalanemia) and birth anomalies correlatedwith the level of radioactive contamination inthe Chechersky District, Gomel Province (5–70 Ci/km 2 ;Kulakovet al., 1997).8. In the contaminated territories, failedpregnancies and medical abortions increased(Golovko and Izhevsky, 1996).9. Soon after the catastrophe the majority offertile women from the contaminated territoriesdeveloped menstrual disorders (Nesterenkoet al., 1993). Frequent gynecologic problemsand delay in the onset of menarche correlatedwith the levels of radioactive contamination inthe area (Kulakov et al., 1997).10. Abnormalities of menstrual function innonparous women in areas with contaminationof 1–5 Ci/km 2 (Gomel City) was linked to ovariancystic-degenerative changes and increasedendometrial proliferation. Ovarian size correlatedwith testosterone concentration in bloodserum (Yagovdik, 1998).11. The incidence of endometriosis increasedalmost 2.5-fold in Gomel, Mogilev, andVitebsk cities from 1981 to 1995 (surgical treatmentfor 1,254 women), with the disease expressedmost often in the first 5 years after thecatastrophe. Among women who developed endometriosis,those in the more contaminatedareas were 4 to 5 years younger than thosefrom less contaminated areas (Al-Shubul andSuprun, 2000).12. Primary infertility in the contaminatedareas increased 5.5-fold in 1991 compared with1986. Among the irrefutable reasons for infertilityare sperm pathologies, which increased6.6-fold; twice the incidence of sclerocysticovaries; and a threefold increase in endocrinedisorders (Shilko et al., 1993).13. Impotence in young men (ages 25 to 30years) correlated with the level of radioactivecontamination in a territory (Shilko et al., 1993).“... The doctors reminisce: ‘In one village wefound twelve lactating ∗ elderly women, that is,women 70 years of age had milk in their breasts,as though they were nursing. Experts can argueabout the effects of small doses of radiation, butthe ordinary person cannot even begin to imaginesuch a thing....’ ” (Aleksievich, 1997)._________∗ Lactation in the absence of pregnancy (termedgalactoria or hyperprolactinemia) is an expressionof pituitary gland dysfunction.