Remember Chernobyl And Be Warned

ON April 26 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred when a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, releasing 90 times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This was all the more alarming for taking place under a veil of secrecy, behind the Iron Curtain. The catastrophe hit millions of people without any preparation. ‘We did not yet possess a system of imagination, analogies, words or experiences for the catastrophe of Chernobyl’, Svetlana Alexiyevich, a writer from Belarus, said after the consequences of the accident became apparent. Kofi Annan said in April 2000 in his capacity as UN Secretary General: There are two compelling reasons why the tragedy of Chernobyl must not be forgotten. First, if we forget Chernobyl, we increase the risk of more such technological and environmental disasters in the future. Second, more than seven million of our fellow human beings do not have the luxury of forgetting. They are still suffering, every day, as a result of what happened 14 years ago. Indeed the legacy of Chernobyl will be with us, and with our descendants, for generations to come.’Nothing has changed since then. Twenty-three years have passed since the world’s most horrible industrial accident happened. The tragedy is now a generation away, yet the word Chernobyl still reverberates throughout the world, and its effects are still apparent particularly in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, the three countries most affected by the disaster. Catastrophic deterioration of health of the population of Ukraine has occurred, especially in children. In 1985, a year before the accident, 85% of children were regarded as fully healthy. In 2001, five years after the accident, that figure was reduced to 20% and in highly contaminated Gomel to 6%. Chernobyl fallout also seriously contaminated other areas of the world. In the UK, for example, over 2 500 km from Chernobyl, more than 360 farms are still subject to restrictions because of Chernobyl contamination. Ultimately, fallout from Chernobyl was distributed over the entire northern hemisphere. The full effects of Chernobyl will most certainly never be known. However, 23 years after the disaster, it is clear that they are far greater than implied by official estimates. The overall conclusion is that the unprecedented extent of the disaster and its long-term global environmental, health and socio-economic consequences should be fully acknowledged and taken into account by governments when considering their energy policies. The struggle against nuclear power and the support for the establishment of a safe, economical, sustainable and non-polluting energy supply is at the heart of everyone caring about the future and the generations to come. A prosperous economy and political stability can only be achieved by a healthy society.There are alternatives to nuclear energy. In 1986, the year of the Chernobyl accident, renewable energies were just a dream for hobbyists and some researchers, but since then renewable energies have experienced extensive progress and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created in the renewable sector worldwide. Globally, renewable energies make many times the contribution to energy supply than the nuclear power. Yet there are interested parties once again propagating the myth of a renaissance of nuclear power being safe, clean and climate friendly. 23 years after the nuclear disaster, despite much evidence to the contrary, the global nuclear lobby maintains its stance, refusing to acknowledge the real extent of the destruction and its far-reaching effects. Denial however can never erase the truth of the devastation to millions of people and the continued damage inflicted on the environment. Lobbyists of the nuclear industry want to make us believe that a Chernobyl cannot happen again. But the poor condition of many outdated nuclear plants speak another language. Besides, it’s always a combination of human error and technical failure causing industrial accidents. What amazes most about the decision of any country to opt for nuclear power is the high possibility that these power stations could function as atom bombs. The enemy does not need an atom bomb – all he needs is to drop a powerful bomb on a nuclear power station. So countries with nuclear power plants do have potential atom bombs positioned as easy targets within their own surroundings.Ever since the Nuclear Age began some 60 years ago, humankind has been at risk of annihilation by tools of its own invention. Humankind has proven that it is smart enough and technically competent enough to develop the means of its own destruction. Now it faces the test of proving that it is collectively wise enough to keep these destructive tools from proliferating and being used again. Albert Einstein said: ‘The splitting of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.’ Einstein was a wise man who could foresee the predicament. Our leaders of today seem to miss this wisdom. Bertchen KohrsVia e-mail