Speaking through an interpreter yesterday at an official announcement of the conferences, Porokhnyak said the effects of the Chernobyl meltdown continue to mount, with the contamination of regional rivers and groundwater supplies and congenital defects still appearing in newborns.

"It's very important for us to gather this way to share our experiences and draw strength from each other," she said.

A contingent from Hawai'i — including native Marshallese Maza Attari and Native Hawaiian activist Puanani Rogers of Kaua'i — were scheduled to leave early today for Majuro in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, where a conference will convene tomorrow through Wednesday.

The Majuro meeting was timed to mark Tuesday's 51st anniversary of the "Bravo" bomb blast at Bikini in the Marshall Islands.

Attari said he was 7 years old at the time and still suffers from thyroid dysfunction and other health problems. Most of Hawai'i's Marshallese — who according to a 2003 census number around 3,000 — have some kind of ailment that relates to either the direct effects of radiation exposure or congenital problems inherited from a parent exposed to the blast, he said.

Kailua resident and military veteran Charles Clark, who entered Nagasaki 45 days after the atomic blast destroyed that city in 1945, also recounted his own litany of cancers and other illnesses, including disorders passed on to the two succeeding generations in his family. Exposure to radiation inflicts its damage after a latency period, he said, but the damage is inevitable.

"It's a question of time, and time is not on our side," Clark said.