An attempt is made to put the potential for future health effects from Chernobyl's radioactive releases into perspective. It now appears that the radiocesium, with its wide distribution, its 30-year half-life, its beta-gamma dose potential, and its ubiquitous distribution throughout all tissues (it is a potassium congener), poses the dominant threat to the population. At present, it appears that about one-third of the radiocesium released is in the European Soviet Union, one-third in central and western Europe, and one-third in Asia and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. There is a real opportunity to advance our understanding of the role of dose rate and latency by careful study of the Soviet evacuated population, exposed workers, and rescue personnel. Furthermore, for two of the latent health effects, there is a reasonable chance that significant information could be available in the next 2 to 4 years.
