The Weeping Cow: Impact of Countermeasures on Daily Life in Chernobyl Contaminated Regions. Claire Mays, SYMLOG, BP 125, F-94232 Cachan Cx, France, e-mail claire.mays@post.harvard.edu; Elena Avetova and Maggie Murphy, University of Surrey, European Institute of Health and Medical Science, Guildford GU2 5XH UK; Neil Higgins, National Radiation Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ UK; and Melanie King and Peter Allen, University of Surrey, European Institute of Health and Medical Science, Guildford GU2 5XH UK
Twelve years after the Chernobyl catastrophe, what is the daily life of rural dwellers in contaminated regions of Belarus and the Ukraine? Over the years, protective countermeasures have been applied or withdrawn, and radiation protection advice is still in effect concerning e.g. the consumption of milk or of forest food products. How is that advice regarded by villagers? To what extent do they comply or not comply, and what is their reasoning? How are countermeasures woven into the fabric of social life?
In the goal of optimisation, radiation protection countermeasures may be evaluated as the sum of individual dose averted, cost, and distress. A detailed formula exists for calculating dose, but social and economic costs, and individual distress, are in need of modelling. Twelve focus groups (10 in Belarus, 2 in Ukraine; six groups each of men or of women) were consulted in an effort to develop a convincing and workable definition of distress experienced by members of the rural communities affected by Chernobyl. Stresses introduced by countermeasures, or linked to other aspects of the post-accidental situation, were identified. We present the results of a systematic content analysis, bearing on the benefits or satisfactions linked to focus behaviours (e.g. milk consumption, forest visits...), distress experienced, attitudes towards countermeasures, impacts and management of information, etc.
The focus group transcripts contain telling, humorous or poignant representations of how people carry on living in the face of threat, uncertainty, and absurdity.
SPARPA is a European Commission-sponsored project (F14C-CT96-0010) on social psychological aspects of radiation protection after accidents. Specific objectives include: to characterise, using quantitative methods, the nature and psychological impact of countermeasures and the influence of behaviour on dose, and to develop guidance on the implementation of countermeasures, taking account of the social and psychological context.
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