another Amazon Breakthrough

[littleman]

Isn't that really interesting?  It seems that the radiation hasn't done the damage scientists thought it would.  I wonder if it means there is less effective radiation exposure, or if the exposure is less damaging than expected.  I saw another documentary about people who are still living in the area, they are homesteaders -- basically there because no one else wants to be.  They are farming in the area, growing potatoes and small animals.  So far they are surviving ok too.

[Rupert]

There is a local charity that helps the children from there.  Some people we know were involved with them for a few years. From what I remember, the basic idea was that by getting them out of the radiation for a few weeks every year, it gave their bodies a rest, and a chance to fight the effects.
http://www.chernobyl-children.org.uk/

Doctors in Belarus say that a four week holiday boosts the children's immune systems for at least two years, helping them to resist, or recover from, serious illness.

In the summer, when the dust causes radiation levels to rise, it is important for as many children as possible to leave their contaminated homeland for a few weeks of fresh air and clean food.

It can also significantly reduce the amount of radioactive caesium which has built up in a child's body.

Each summer Chernobyl Children's Project (UK) brings around 100 children to Britain for a recuperative holiday. It also organises holidays in clean parts of Belarus for children whose disabilities make it difficult for them to travel.

Leukaemia is high with them.