population about the possible effects of exposure on the unborn was not justified". Despite studies from Germany and Turkey, the only robust evidence of negative pregnancy outcomes that transpired after the accident were these elective abortion indirect effects, in Greece, Denmark, Italy etc., due to the anxieties created. The consequences of low-level radiation are often more psychological than radiological. Because damage from very-low-level radiation cannot be detected, people exposed to it are left in anguished uncertainty about what will happen to them. Many believe they have been fundamentally contaminated for life and may refuse to have children for fear of birth defects. They may be shunned by others in their community who fear a sort of mysterious contagion. Forced evacuation from a radiation or nuclear accident may lead to social isolation, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic medical problems, reckless behavior, or suicide. Such was the outcome of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine. A comprehensive 2005 study concluded that "the mental health impact of Chernobyl is the largest public health problem unleashed by the accident to date". Frank N. von Hippel, a U.S. scientist, commented on the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying that "fear of ionizing radiation could have long-term psychological effects on a large portion of the population in the contaminated areas". Such great psychological danger does not accompany other materials that put people at risk of cancer and other deadly illness. Visceral fear is not widely aroused by, for example, the daily emissions from coal burning, although as a National Academy of Sciences study found, this causes 10,000 premature deaths a year in the US. It is "only nuclear radiation that bears a huge psychological burden – for it carries a unique historical legacy". See also DNA repair Dose fractionation Nuclear power debate#Health effects on population near nuclear power plants and workers Radiology Radiotherapy Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake Biphasic Model, a fringe theory that low dose radiation is generally more harmful than higher doses. References External links ICRP, International Commission on Radiation Protection ICRU, International Commission on Radiation Units IAEA, International Atomic Agency Energy Agency UNSCEAR, United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Ionizing Radiations IARC, International Agency for Research on Cancer HPA (ex NCRP), Health Protection Agency, UK IRPA, International Radiation Protection Association NCRP, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, USA IRSN, Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety, France Report from the European Committee on Radiation Risk broadly