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Environmental Health Policy in Ukraine After the Chernobyl Accident
Author(s) -
Page G. William,
Bobyleva Olga Alexandrovna,
Naboka Marina Vasilievna,
Shestopalov Viacheslav Mikhailovich
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1995.tb00513.x
Subject(s) - public health , nuclear power plant , accident (philosophy) , environmental health , public health policy , health policy , political science , environmental policy , environmental planning , environmental protection , business , economic growth , geography , medicine , economics , philosophy , physics , nursing , epistemology , nuclear physics
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.