How to shut Pandora’s Box

Environmentalists have concluded that Ukraine faces ecological genocide if radical changes are not made. For example, the centralized water supply does not conform to sanitary and bacteriological standards in 10- 12 and 5-6 percent of cases, respectively. In some areas of Ukraine, including the Dnipro and Donbas regions and the Crimea, more than 50 percent of drinking water fails to meet these standards. A mere 15.3 percent of urban residents live in areas with a low level of air pollution; 52.8 percent endure a moderate level of pollution; 24.3 percent live in highly polluted areas, and 7.6 percent are forced to live in areas with a critical level of pollution. These are just a few of the statistics from the long list of environmental problems that have a direct impact on our health.

Below experts from the Marzieiev Institute of Hygiene and Ecological Safety at the Ukrainian Academy of Medical Sciences (AMN) recommend measures that the Ukrainian government should adopt in order to improve the ecological situation and protect the health of its citizens.

Professor Olha TYMCHENKO, M.D., academic secretary of the Interdepartmental Council for Fundamental and Applied Problems of Medical Genetics under the aegis of the AMN and Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MOZ):

Today therapeutic medicine prevails in Ukraine, although countries with healthy populations are those where preventive medicine is burgeoning. We are witness to an increase in the incidence of cancer, which is generally caused by chemical stress on our people, through physical and biological factors. Take genetically modified foods, for example. No one knows how they affect the human body. It has been recognized internationally that no such agents can be used unless they have been proven to be absolutely safe. Why isn’t this principle being practiced in Ukraine?

Regrettably, we see that economic benefits are predominant in our country, without anyone considering the consequences of such an “economy” for our descendants. Although we have legislative acts and programs that are being developed in order to improve the physical condition of the population, none are observed, for example, the official ban on smoking in public places. Don’t our local authorities have enough levers to enforce it? I’m sure that a smoker, after being fined for smoking in public places, will know better the next time.

Unfortunately, it was only recently that the government realized that the results of various state programs are very low. I think there should be a team of people who would deal exclusively with implementing programs and keeping the general public informed about the results (lowering the mortality rate, and so on). Keeping the population healthy depends not only on medical assistance but also on lifestyle and genetic factors.

For the past 15 years our laboratory experts have assessed genetic factors in various parts of Ukraine. Their findings indicate that these factors are not helping to boost the birth rate and that 95 percent of diseases have multifactor causes. In other words, these illnesses are genetically and externally based. Unless we change the situation for the better, the demographic forecasts can get worse. By 2050 there will be fewer than 24 million Ukrainians left. Why not launch a healthy lifestyle campaign on the legislative level, for example, by adding a couple of days to a non-smoking employee’s paid leave?

I believe that our state policies should be aimed at protecting the health of Ukrainians, and that our medicine should be primarily preventive. For example, a horrible disease like cancer can be prevented in many cases if a person has a healthy lifestyle, doesn’t smoke, and regularly consumes foods rich in Vitamins A, E, D, and F. In Ukraine, dishwashing liquids, which are full of chemicals, are widely advertised. These chemicals, combined with other negative factors, are dangerous to humans. As a result, we have an annual population decrease of almost 10 percent: that’s like a whole oblast city disappearing.

Prof. Andrii SERDIUK, M.D., member of the AMN and director of the AMN’s Marzieiev Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology:

Ukraine’s overall ecological situation is very complex. Experts say that some regions are in a critical state. Zaporizhia comes first. The pollution levels in this city exceed all standards. Unless the local authorities take measures to improve the situation, within a certain period of time there will be an increase in the morbidity and death rates. If we want to analyze our environment along certain lines, suppose we start with the kind of water we drink. Ukraine has one of the poorest water supplies in Europe. We actually don’t have a single surface source that meets the first-degree purity standard. Our glorious Dnipro River, where 50 years ago you could drink from it — is heavily polluted by industrial waste. Now clear water can be found only deep under the surface of the earth. The kind of water we get from our taps generally answers our hygienic standards.

However, the trouble is that the quality of running water in Ukraine is determined in keeping with some 20 standards, compared to the 50 standards that are used in Europe (100 standards in some countries). Ukraine, which was always famous for its chornozem, black top soil, has practically no ecologically clean soils (there are even totally degraded soils).

We must not forget about the problem of genetically modified organisms. We haven’t made it clear on the legislative level whether we need them and whether we should import them, while genetically modified crops are being planted on hundreds of thousands of hectares. The problem of genetically modified foods is such a hot topic that it will be on the agenda of the next session of the interdepartmental commission attached to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

As for the quality of foods that are sold through retail outlets, studies by experts at our institute point to a considerable number of low-quality, counterfeit, and extremely stale-dated products. Interestingly, such defective products are sold not at bazaars but at malls, where all foods have to be checked by the health inspection authorities before they can be sold. I think that the legislative clause stating that the health inspection authorities must inform the manufacturer 10 days prior to food inspections is perfectly absurd.

I believe that our state policy should be aimed at protecting the younger generation against the risks awaiting it. Our experts have developed an environmental hygiene plan. It has been recognized abroad, but it isn’t being implemented at home, unfortunately. Health is determined primarily by social and economic conditions, genetic preconditions, environment, and lifestyle. In 2000, when through the process of monitoring we introduced genetic health methods and those that are aimed at protecting young married couples against possible risks, from then on every year we began getting 300 desirable pregnancies in Kyiv oblast alone. Multiply this figure by 25 oblasts! So my recommendation to the government is to listen to what scientists have to say.

Maria HULICH, M.D., head of the Food Laboratory at the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology:

The lack of vitamins and microelements in today’s diet can be described as a 21st-century disaster. What do we eat? Quite often our diet consists of food substitutes or even counterfeit products. Recently we studied several kinds of foods that are sold in our malls. I used to say that every shopper should read labels to find out what ingredients are used in foods, but now I’m not going to say that because food labels often contain false information. Figuratively speaking, a number of products that are being sold are “silicon breasts.” They look good but they aren’t real. For example, even the most expensive meat products are full of additives. So I can only recommend that you cook your meals at home, using natural products.

A great deal of damage was done to the health of Ukrainians in the 1990s, when people were consuming all kinds of food garbage from Europe. This damage may one day manifest itself in the physical condition of our children and grandchildren. Ukraine has no state food policy. We have a variety of laws, including the one “On the Safety and Quality of Foodstuffs” and one that focuses on food for children, and so on. Quite often these laws contradict each other or are never observed.

Prof. Vitalii KORZUN, M.D., head of the Special Foods Laboratory at the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology:

We know what should be done to improve the ecological situation and health in Ukraine, but our scientists can’t translate their work into life because of lack of funds. We need support from the state. After the Chornobyl disaster people mostly suffered from thyroid gland disorders. Even though the radioactive iodine had decayed by Aug. 1, 1986, it still affected adults and children (born and unborn). Today our doctors are determined to solve this problem with the use of iodized salt, and they say that everyone should consume it. But no one talks about its side effects.

For the past six years our institute has campaigned against the use of iodized salt. It is used on a daily basis in Belarus, but their medical findings now show that while the incidence of hypothyroidism (goiter) has not decreased, the rate of hyperthyroidism, a disease that is much harder to treat than goiter, has increased several times. There must be a differentiated treatment approach.

There are many regions in Ukraine whose residents should not use iodized salt because they already have enough of this chemical element. Meanwhile, their diets lack other microelements that are required for the normal functioning of the body. This kind of salt should not be used by pregnant women, children under three years of age, and people with kidney problems. There are various methods for compensating for a lack of salt. One method involves the diet: consuming 10 grams of laminaria (sea kale) twice a week. Ukrainian sea kale is even more effective; cistozira (Black Sea brown algae) is laminaria’s sister. A medication known as Barbaiod has been developed from it and it is available in Ukrainian drugstores. One or two pills a day should be taken. This kind of algae contains other microelements required by the human organism. In addition, Ukrainians must have a balanced diet in terms of both calories and quality. Despite the fact that Ukraine is a poor country, 40 percent of our citizens are overweight. Therefore, the government and physicians should promote a healthy diet with enough vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish.