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Local Family Takes
in Russian Children
from Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Area
Tom Duggan
(08/03/07)
When Salem/Methuen Rotary
club member John Breen learned that the Chernobyl
Children Project was short one host family for two
Russian children visiting the United States from the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster area, it was all he and his wife
Christine needed to hear. Having hosted children from the
Chernobyl area once before, the Breens said they never
gave it a second thought.
“What the children need is someone to stay with,
someone who will take care of them while they are here in
the United States getting medical treatment and physicals
from the Chernobyl Children’s Fund,” Breen
said.
This year the Breens are hosting 9 year old Pavel
Meleshenko and ten year old Dmitriy Kartavtsev, both from
Klintsy, Russia.
Between doctors visits and trips to the dentist, the two
young Russian boys were treated to many day trips of
fresh air and sunshine such as Canobie Lake Park in
Salem, NH, and Salisbury Beach.
“It has been very exciting to show them the ocean
for the first time, to take them camping, fishing, and to
Lake Sunapee. I do not speak Russian, and they do not
speak English; but their smiles say it all” says
Christine happily.
John says that because radiation has contaminated the
water and food supplies, children growing up in that area
of Russia and Belarus suffer from a myriad of health
problems such as cancer, kidney disease and immune
deficiency problems.
“We are just the host family who takes care of them
while they are here,” Breen explains “but we
get a long itinerary from the Children’s Project.
They get full physicals at Saint’s Memorial, dental
care at Tufts, they’re even given eye exams and
glasses through the Lens Crafter’s “Gift of
Sight.” During the four weeks Pavel and Dmitriy were
in the US, much of the radiation built up in their system
from long term exposure to radiation will have flushed
out of their bodies because of fresh food and fresh air .
“The problem is,” Breen continued, “once
they leave the U.S. and go back home with a clean bill of
health, they go right back to that contaminated
environment, eating and drinking the same contaminated
food and water and breathing the same air. But at least
they have been given a brief respite and some hope.”
The Breens say that Pavel and Dmitriy were both given a
clean bill of health before returning home to Russia.
The Salem/Methuen Rotary Club thanked the Breen family at
a recent meeting for their dedication to helping children
affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “We
really should be saying thank you to the entire
community, The Breens said. “So many people, so many
businesses pitched in to help Pavel and Dmitriy while
they were here.”
The Breen Family with Pavel and Dmitriy (from left to
right): John, Pavel, Sarah, John Breen (back) Dmitriy,
Emily, Christine and Ruthann at the Sweetheart Inn in
Methuen after a meeting of the Salem/Methuen Rotary Club.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Disaster
 The Chernobyl tragedy is the
largest peacetime radiation catastrophe that has ever
occurred on this planet. Considered to be the worst
manmade nuclear disaster in world history, the human
dimensions of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion are vast
and heartbreaking. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is a
global environmental event which has left thousands of
refugees and long term contamination of the land, water
and air.
* On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 AM, a nuclear explosion took
place in Reactor Number 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Plant located in Ukraine.
* 190 Tons of highly radioactive materials were released
into the atmosphere. Scientists estimate that the amount
of radionucleides released into the environment is equal
to the effect of twenty nuclear bombs.
Despite the fact that the accident occurred in 1986, its
subsequent problems have not disappeared. In many cases
they have become worse. Much time has passed since the
day of the accident and for those who did not personally
face the disaster it may seem that the Chernobyl problem
has lost its topicality. The biggest catastrophe of the
century is increasingly forgotten; and is often
considered as something belonging to the past, but it is
not so for the people of the region. Many radioactive
elements appear to have the same composition as the
natural and vital minerals that our bodies need. For
example:
* Plutonium is the most toxic nuclear element that man
has produced; it does not exist in nature except as a
result of a nuclear reaction. The body recognizes
plutonium as it would iron thus it is absorbed into the
red blood cells and muscles. It may cause blood
disorders, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and
other forms of cancer.
* Caesium 137 behaves as potassium and is incorporated
into rapidly growing cells throughout the body. Heavy
concentrations may lead to gastrointestinal and blood
problems.
* Iodine 131 is concentrated in the thyroid gland
especially during periods of rapid growth. Radioactive
iodine is responsible for the marked increase in cancer
of the thyroid that has been seen in children.
* Strontium 90 is similar to calcium and becomes part of
the bone structure. Types of bone and bone marrow cancers
may be the result.
©1995-2006 Chernobyl Children Project USA, Inc., a
501(c)3 non-profit organization.
To help the Chernobyl Children’s Project visit them
on Line at www.ccpusa.org
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The August 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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