[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E527-E528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 4, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I rise this afternoon to join 
Chairmen Hyde and Gallegly, Mr. Lantos and others in commemorating the 
Chernobyl disaster, a tragic event that has left a legacy of pain and 
suffering felt by the people of Ukraine and Belarus to this day. I 
welcome this resolution and especially its emphasis on encouraging 
national and international health organizations to focus their research 
on the public health consequences of Chernobyl.
  As Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I can recall the 
Commission hearing I chaired on the 10th anniversary of Chernobyl, at 
which witnesses, including then Ukrainian Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak 
offered compelling testimony addressing the health and demographic 
consequences of the world's worst nuclear disaster. I am pleased to 
inform colleagues that on the 25th of this month the Helsinki 
Commission will hold a hearing commemorating Chernobyl. I am pleased 
that Ukrainian Ambassador Shamshur has accepted my invitation to 
testify along with health experts and others.
  Madam Speaker, as a strong advocate of the health of all children, 
including the unborn, Chernobyl is of special concern.
  In Ukraine and Belarus, there is growing evidence of a steep increase 
in birth defects, especially an alarming 4-fold increase in spina 
bifida that has been documented by the Ukrainian-American Association 
for the Prevention of Birth Defects. Many other forms of birth defects 
have doubled since Chernobyl, including cataracts, deformed limbs and 
fingers, and cleft palates. Recent Israeli-Ukrainian studies have shown 
that children born to Chernobyl liquidators have a 7-fold increase in 
chromosome damage as compared to their siblings born prior to the 
Chernobyl disaster.
  Last year, I authored language that was included in the State 
Department Authorization Act authorizing funding for assistance to 
improve maternal and prenatal care, especially for the purpose of 
helping prevent birth defects and pregnancy complications. The monies 
would be for individuals in the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine 
involved in the cleanup of the region affected by the Chernobyl 
disaster. We need to make sure that Chernobyl health studies and 
efforts to prevent birth defects through the distribution of folic acid 
and better prenatal care receive sufficient funding. These are funding 
priorities that I will continue to pursue.

  Madam Speaker, the public health research community was caught off 
guard by the massive 80-fold increase in thyroid cancer among Chernobyl 
children in Belarus in 1993, and the

[[Page E528]]

world community needs to remain vigilant for other forms of cancer that 
may begin to emerge now that the 20-year latency period has ended.
  We need to remember that the half-life of radioactive cesium is 30 
years. Thousands of children are still being exposed to dangerously 
high levels of radionuclides in contaminated areas of southern Belarus 
and northern Ukraine, as well as far-flung areas in Scandinavia and 
Eastern Europe that also suffered from radioactive fallout. There is 
still much that remains to be done to overcome the devastating effects 
of Chernobyl, and it is important for the international community--both 
governments and nongovernmental organizations--to remember that 
Chernobyl is not just a Ukrainian, Belarusian or Russian problem. The 
fallout will require continued international attention and commitment.
  I also want to take this opportunity to commend the work of 
nongovernmental organizations that devote considerable time and effort 
in helping the victims of Chernobyl. One such organization is the 
Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund, which has worked 
tirelessly to provide state-of-the-art medical technology, physician 
training and humanitarian aid to give Ukrainian children a fighting 
chance to overcome cancer and leukemia.
  Finally, I welcome the resolution's support for continued U.S. 
assistance to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, the Shelter Implementation 
Plan, and other efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl 
disaster. We need to do everything possible to protect people and the 
environment from the large quantity of radioactive remains of the 
Chernobyl nuclear power plant even as we work to assist the victims of 
the world's worst nuclear disaster.

                          ____________________