The report claims to be "the most comprehensive evaluation of the accident’s consequences to date" and to represents "a consensus view of the eight organizations of the UN family according to their competences and of the three affected countries".
It roughly estimates that cancers deaths caused by the Chernobyl accident might eventually reach a total of up to 4,000 among the 600,000 cleanup workers or "liquidators" who received the greatest exposures.
[4] One paper estimates an additional 5,000 deaths from the Chernobyl accident among the exposed population of around 6 million living in the contaminated areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia[5] However, the paper notes that no significant increased cancer risk apart from thyroid cancer has been scientifically demonstrated to date; this prediction is only an indication of the possible impact of the accident, and should not be taken at face value.
Since most emergency workers and people living in contaminated areas received relatively low radiation doses, comparable to natural background levels, no decrease in fertility or increase in congenital malformations have been observed.
This, in turn, has led either to over cautious behavior and exaggerated health concerns, or to reckless conduct, such as consumption of mushrooms, berries and game from areas still designated as highly contaminated, overuse of alcohol and tobacco, and unprotected promiscuous sexual activity.