Environmental Health Policy in Ukraine After the Chernobyl Accident

• Published in: Policy studies journal Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 141 - 151
• Main Authors: Page, G. William, Bobyleva, Olga Alexandrovna, Naboka, Marina Vasilievna, Shestopalov, Viacheslav Mikhailovich
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.1995; Policy Studies Organization; University of Illinois
• Subjects: Accidents; Analysis; Atomic power plants; ENVIRONMENT; Environmental aspects; Environmental health; Environmental Policy; Health; HEALTH (ALSO SICKNESS AND DISEASE); Health care; Health Policy; Legal aspects; Nuclear accidents & safety; Nuclear power plants; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS AND NUCLEAR ENERGY; Nuclear Reactors; Policy; Policy Making; Public health; PUBLIC POLICY; Radiation; Radioactivity; Rivers; Sediments; Stress; Ukraine; Ukraine; Chernobyl Ukraine
• ISSN: 0190-292X; 1541-0072
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1995.tb00513.x

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine produced severe environmental health problems. This paper reports on the environmental health conditions in Ukraine after the accident and the health policy approaches employed to respond to the environmental conditions and health problems. Crisis conditions and a period of rapid change in Ukraine contributed to the difficulties of developing and implementing policy to address serious environmental health problems. Despite these difficulties, Ukraine is taking effective action. The paper describes the primary environmental health problem areas and the efforts taken to solve them. The effect of intense public fear of radiation on policymaking is described. The paper discusses the ability of public fear to distort health policy towards certain problems, leaving problems of greater importance with fewer resources.