Expert: Radiophobia arises from the lack of knowledge

Radiophobia most often arises from the lack of knowledge, Zoya Trafimchik, Director of the Belarusian branch of the Russia-Belarus information center for Chernobyl, told an online press conference hosted by BelTA on 26 April.

“We, in Belarus, had a very difficult time after the Chernobyl disaster. The territory with more than 2 million people happened to be radioactive contaminated, and we did not really know what we were facing and how to deal with it. But with time, the awareness of safe living increased, the territories became cleaner as a result of the decay of radionuclides, radiation-ecological and socio-economic situation stabilized, and this phenomenon began to fade away,” she said.

“As part of the Russian-Belarusian Chernobyl programs, our center does surveying of the levels of social and psychological stress related to the Chernobyl radiation factor, and we see that it gradually decreases. Of course there are people who can press the panic button just from hearing the word “radiation” but their number is really small today,” Zoya Trafimchik added.