REMEMBER CHERNOBYL
Twenty Years On
On 26th April various events were held to commemorate the
20th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Noel Hamel and Mary Holmes attended the CND
meeting at the House of Commons. Noel
asked a question about low-level radiation, and the
controversy of claims versus dismissal by the establishment without proper
consideration or research. This gave
Michael Meacher the opportunity to explain the
difficulties encountered whilst Minister for the Environment. He believes the "Establishment" is
motivated by vested interest which accounts for the disinterest in the issue of
poisoning by airborne radioactive dust.
Mary was alarmed to hear that very large areas of Ukraine
and Belarus are contaminated, yet the authorities are encouraging resettlement
and guided tours are available to the power station site. Many who helped with clearing up and
evacuation 20 years ago are dead and there is controversy over illness
statistics. Incidence of thyroid cancer
does seem to have increased significantly. Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP
for Lewes, has investigated plans for 'disposal' of radioactive waste and has
been told that appropriate sites for burial are being considered. He said, In a few hundred years time, will
there be electricity? Will people understand English? How can we be sure that
people in the future understand the grave danger posed by this radioactive
waste, which can be deadly for hundreds of years? The nuclear industry is even
considering creating stone monuments at nuclear waste storage sites with
instructions engraved onto them. This serious proposal sounds absurd at first,
but really it underlines the fact that people centuries from now will still
have to deal with our dangerous toxic legacy.