I met a Russian girl here locally. We've been dating for almost a year and are getting pretty serious. She's from Chelyabinsk. I did some reserach on the city and found it's thought of as one of the most polluted locations on the planet. Radiation and chemical. My concern is for any children we may have. The city was opened to the public in the 90's but dunno if that was a sign of things being safe there or just the gov not caring much anymore. She was born in 1980 so she was born during the time we know for sure the place was bad. She has voiced some concern about this too. What should we do?
When my dad was 4 years old and lived in Magnitogorsk, a catastrophe at the local atomic station happened...but he has no problems because of that...and I myself don't have any problems because of that:) And when I was 4 years a catastrophe at Chernobyl atomic station happened...believe me this means nothing, but if you're really concerned, you may really go to the doctor together and do the needed check-up and tests...
Anyway good luck to you both:)
I recently read some reports in the newspaper (based on recent results from scientific studies) that the health impact of the Chernobyl disaster had been much lower than first anticipated. This is an example:
My girl's stepfather was one of the emergency workers that helped in the clean up efforts at Chernobyl. Of course it is many years later now, and he is still alive, but he does suffer many ill effects. He is considered permanently disabled by the government and receives some small assistance. Unfortunately the healthcare he receives is very poor.
Well, Chelyabinsk is not Chernobyl. Your girl should know how strong her health is. If she has been ok so far, I don't think there may appear some sudden consequences. A couple of tests and I'm sure you both will be fine and not worrying about future.