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Chernobyl

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Veznova, Belarus

Natasha Popova, 12, and Vadim Kuleshov, 8. Natasha was born with microcephaly; her head is too small. Vadim has a bone disease and is also mentally retarded
48-1.jpg (7725 bytes)Gomel, Belarus
Annya Pesenko has a brain tumour. She was born in Zakoptye, a village which was heavily contaminated, and ultimately evacuated and destroyed. The brain tumour appeared when she was four. Now at 15, Annya has a brain tumour for the second time. Annya gets her daily medication injected
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Institute for Endocrinology in Kiev, Ukraine

Elena Sergeevna Gurok, 19, from the Chernygiv region, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and again in 2005. Thyroid cancer amongst women has taken on epidemic proportions in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia

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Kiev, Ukraine

Galina Miroshnichenko, 34, has thyroid cancer

49-2.jpg (5026 bytes)Thyroid Cancer Institute in Kiev, Ukraine
Nila Bandarenko from Zhytomir ready for her third operation of the thyroid gland. Surgeon Igor Komisarenko says after her second operation “microscopic particles of the cancer got into her blood vessels and started growing there”. Bandarenko also has kidney cancer
50.jpg (12277 bytes)Narodichi district, Ukraine
A Sunday afternoon football match between Zone-2 and Zone-3. Zone-2 is more polluted, people can stay if they wish, but it is recommended that they leave. Zone-1 is closed territory. Zone-3 won the match
50-1.jpg (10548 bytes)Dutch photographer Robert Knoth has been documenting the effects of Chernobyl for the past 15 years in areas in the former Soviet Union. An exhibition of his photographs is being mounted in 35 cities around the world
50-2.jpg (11800 bytes)Gomel, Belarus
Alexandra Prokopenko, 9, with her father Vitaly. Alexandra has hydrocephalus. Vitaly has quit his job. He is the only one strong enough to hold Alexandra when she sits up to eat

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