PHA-Exch> Press release Prof Nesterenko's death

[Claudio Schuftan]

*PRESS RELEASE 26 AUGUST 2008 FROM THE ASSOCIATION*

*THE CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL BELARUS *

* "ENFANTS DE TCHERNOBYL BELARUS"**  ***



*e-mail: **etchernobyl at doubleclic.asso.fr*



*Vassili B. Nesterenko (1934 - 25.08.2008)*





*Vice-president of the French- Belarus association "Enfants de Tchernobyl
Bélarus", Vassili Nesterenko has died.  Nuclear physicist at the highest
level in the Soviet Union, since 1986, he has fought against the
disinformation on Chernobyl.  In 1990, with the help of Sakharov, he set up
the Independent Institute for Radioprotection BELRAD to investigate
radioactive contamination and to provide assistance to the affected
populations, in particular the children.*



*On 27 May 2008, he came to Geneva with Alexei Yablokov (environmental
scientists) and Rosa Gontcharova (geneticist) to participate in the
permanent protest (the Hippocratic vigil) outside WHO, in support of the
action of IndependentWHO.*





These were his words:



"*I would like to say this : for as long as friends support us, we continue
to hope that the victims will survive. I am one of the 800 000 liquidators
wounded by Chernobyl. These are truly the forgotten men of our countries.
Tens of thousands have already left this world, they can no longer talk
about all this again. In the name of the liquidators, I wish you, the
permanent protesters holding this vigil, courage and a long life, so that
you can stay here until victory. I wish you all the good health that we had,
we the liquidators, before we arrived at the reactor. We were young and full
of strength. Thank you. »  *





*These words were a premonition. **He was speaking as a liquidator who
suffered massive damage to internal organs through irradiation received at
the site of the burning reactor. As Michel Fernex, President of LES ENFANTS
de TCHERNOBYL BELARUS said:*

*"For us, Vassily Nesterenko was a friend. We were aware that the BELRAD
Institute survived thanks to his dazzling intelligence which allowed him to
resist thousands of treacherous attacks against him. Professor Nesterenko
was director of the famous Institute of Nuclear Physics of Minsk, when in
Ukraine, the Chernobyl reactor exploded. He decided there and then to work
for the protection of the populations and in particular for the health of
the children, victims of chronic irradiation. He has devoted his life to
this. In doing so, he neglected his own health and too often, refused rest
when this was desperately needed"*

* *

*Vassili Nesterenko was working on an Atlas of radiocesium accumulated in
the bodies of children of the contaminated regions using all the data
collected since 1990 from his radio- protection work.  He is undoubtedly a
unique witness of the consequences of Chernobyl. It is vital that
Nesterenko's work continue. The Independent Institute of Radioprotection
BELRAD must continue the work of this great, selfless and courageous man,
who devoted his life to the pursuit of truth and struggled to repair and
limit the human damage of the world's worst nuclear catastrophe. *



*Life journey of an exceptional resister : *



*In the hours following the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986, a man rebelled
against the lies of the state and paid the price in terms of his career and
his own personal safety.** **Member of the Academy of Sciences in Belarus,
physicist at the highest international level, Vassili Nesterenko had access
in the Soviet Union to the towns which were out of bounds for military
reasons. **Chernobyl** rocked his life. **Svetlana Alexievitch recounts how
during a conference of Soviet experts, he spoke up to emphasize the urgent
necessity to evacuate the population in a radius of at least 100 kilometers,
and to distribute dosimeters and iodine tablets to save the
children**"**.  Confronting
the inaction and lies of the Soviet government, in a gesture of
extraordinary courage, Nesterenko decided, without the approval of his
superiors, to stop the ongoing scientific work that he directed at the
Institute of Nuclear Energy in Belarus. Instead, he put all his staff to
work on the health effects of Chernobyl and he developed assistance policy
for affected populations. Of course, he was removed from his position and
suffered pressure from the KGB. He escaped two attempts on his life. *

*In 1990, with the help of Andrei Sakharov, A. Adamovitch and A. Karpov, he
set up the Independent Institute of Radioprotection, BELRAD, to provide
assistance to the children of the areas affected by radioactive fallout. He
trains doctors, teachers and nurses in radioprotection.  *

*In 1994, with the help of Western NGOs, BELRAD acquired mobile chairs for
whole body measurement of radioactivity, which Nesterenko then improved and
perfected. These spectrometers measure radioactivity in the human body and
are hooked up to a computer which records the gamma rays of incorporated
radionuclides, mainly caesium 137 but also potassium. The data collected are
regularly published in a document which is distributed to national, regional
and local health authorities as well as to families.  *

*In 1996, Nesterenko succeeded in obtaining approval of, and implementing an
intervention based on apple pectin. This intervention is recommended by the
Ukraine Ministry of Health as an adsorbent of caesium 137.  In one month of
treatment, the level of radionuclides in the organism of a child can be
decreased by 60-70%.*

*Nesterenko was the only scientist taking systematic measurements of
artificial internal radiation. His measurements have revealed contamination
levels that are 8 times higher than those published by the Belarus Ministry
of Health, which persistently obstructed his activities. As his work was
legal, these efforts failed. For years, BELRAD has functioned thanks to
international assistance and in particular to France, through financial
support from the association, the Children of Chernobyl Belarus, and also
France Libertés, Children of Chernobyl . . .*

*Nesterenko himself has had to battle with the effects of radioactive
contamination. He flew over the burning reactor the day after the accident.
**His health became extremely fragile. **Since 2007, harassment from
government administration doubled after he refused the offer of directing
the construction of the new power station in Belarus. On 25 June 2007,
President Loukachenko signed a resolution addressed to Prime Minister
Sidorsky which stated «Take all necessary measures to bring to justice the
private organization "Institute of Radioprotection BELRAD" and its senior
staff, responsible for the violation of laws in the area of radioprotection
research and dissemination of research results.**"*

*But Nesterenko knew the law. He defended himself with amazing energy.
Following exhausting daily controls by the fiscal department of the Finance
Ministry, whose mission was to incriminate BELRAD, the department ended up
recognizing the excellence of the Institute's work and presented its
compliments. But that last battle certainly contributed to Nesterenko
finally exhausting his strength to resist.  *

*Fortunately, BELRAD, with more than thirty staff, has built up a solid team
which includes Vassili's son, Alexei Nesterenko, who is ready to take over
as director and continue to expand knowledge, expose the truth in the face
of lies from the authorities and to provide assistance to the children of
Belarus who continue to suffer from radioactive contamination.  *

* *
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