The Chernobyl catastrophe was proof that mankind can match or surpass nature in creating catastrophes and destroying thousands of lives. The event completely ruined that part of the world, still causing death and suffering among the people who refuse to leave.
Hundreds of works have been produced to talk about its permanent damage, while thousands of testimonies seek justice for the lives lost in its aftermath, although they know it will never come. However, there is another perspective of this tragedy that is not talked about and it has to do directly with Mexico and its relationship with Ireland – a nation affected by the radiation from the accident.
You might want to read this: The Mexican Chernobyl, The Biggest Nuclear Accident In The American Continent
In 1986, the government of the Latin American country bought milk from its European counterpart under its economic treaty. The problem was that this product was contaminated by the radiation cloud caused by Chernobyl, and thousands of children consumed it daily, which caused cancer and later death.
The disgrace began just four months after the Chernobyl accident. The scandal had reached the rest of the world, and Moscow was doing what it could (inefficiently) to save people from the tragedy they were facing. To avoid further uproar, the effect the catastrophe would have on the atmosphere and the radioactive cloud around Asia and Europe was never reported.
Toxic gases traveled through the wind to the west, so western European nations such as the Republic of Ireland were at risk of being exposed to radiation causing contamination of food, animals, and people. Soon, the Irish authorities noticed that the milk they produced had high radioactive emissions and made the decision to sell it, regardless of the risk it would pose to thousands of people.
The Irish government then tried to sell dozens of tons of contaminated milk to third-world nations, revealing its brazenness and disinterest to make a profit. In July 1986, the Mexican ambassador in Brazil, Antonio González Quintanilla, warned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) of the European country’s intentions to trade with radioactive milk. He suggested that after offering it unsuccessfully to South American countries, the Irish would try to negotiate with Mexico, a country economically linked by strong commercial ties. Soon after, Alfonso de Rozental, then undersecretary of the SRE, informed the Secretary of Health of his intentions and pointed out that it would put the health of Mexicans at risk. However, corruption and disinterest on the part of the Mexican government came into play.
The Irish Dairy Council and the Compañía Nacional de Subsistencias Populares (CONASUPO, the main company in charge of the distribution of subsidized milk in Mexico) reached an agreement to import 40,000 tons of milk, aware that it was contaminated and that it would be dangerous for consumers, mainly low-income people.
Ironically, the European country’s Food Minister, Joe Walsh, publicly stated that the product was under the permitted levels of radiation. He accepted that it was dangerous although he assured people that it was not risky enough not to consume it.
Two individuals, Manuel Rodriguez Gordillo and Miguel Angel Vladovinos – vice admiral and physicist respectively – learned of the product’s arrival in Mexico at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Veracruz, where they registered high levels of radiation. After analyzing the product they came to the revealing conclusion and tried to warn those in charge of the purchase and sale; they were ignored. Both tried to expose the corruption and indifference of the government to the product that would be exposed to millions of people and were persecuted for the rest of their lives. CONASUPO decided to share the product and it was distributed among some of the big brands currently sold, such as Nestlé, Kraft Food, and Yakult, among others.
According to the then head of the Oncology Department of the National Institute of Pediatrics, Rocio Cardenas, between 1988 and 1997, the number of children suffering from cancer increased considerably. The weekly news magazine Proceso tried to do further research on the case; however, every step was stopped by bureaucratic tricks and dead ends. They tried to analyze the figures from the “Federico Gómez” Children’s Hospital to discover a possible correlation between the increase in the incidence of the disease in infants consequence of the milk that arrived in Mexico during that period. Likewise, they questioned different diplomats, officials, and government leaders without receiving clear answers and only obtained evasive statements. Their silence proves their guilt and fear of dealing with the responsibility for the illness and death of an unknown number of children (and possibly adults).
It is believed that many of the deformities in children, deaths and sudden illnesses recorded since 1987 were caused by radioactive milk. The people were hardly informed. Mexicans never expected that their relatives would suffer damage caused by events that happened thousands of miles away from their homes.
Chernobyl did not stay in that place. It left its mark on the world and revealed that humanity is still despicable. From those who dealt with the catastrophe with negligence to the politicians under the government of President Miguel de la Madrid, who are solely responsible for the countless deaths and tragedies that hundreds – or perhaps thousands – suffered just because they depended on government-purchased commodities without even being near a nuclear power plant.
Perhaps that is the greatest misfortune, that the world can never get better.