Europe Remembers Chernobyl Disaster 25 Years On

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) --The 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster was commemorated in Chernobyl yesterday as the ongoing Japanese nuclear disaster continues to derail the future of nuclear power in Europe.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych attended a service at the site of the Chernobyl meltdown, which occurred on April 26, 1986, in Reactor 4. The explosion at the reactor claimed the lives of 31 people that day, but many more have died since then from radiation-related illnesses like cancer, while much of Europe was exposed to radioactive fallout. Medvedev added his support to a recent decision by the European Union (E.U.) to carry out stress tests on older nuclear reactors and to improve the safety protocols in place. For additional information, see March 29, 2011, article - Europe's Nuclear Reactors Face 'Stress Tests'.

Similar remembrance services took place all over Europe alongside large anti-nuclear protests in Germany, Austria and France, calling for an end to nuclear power. In the wake of last month's explosions and subsequent radiation leaks at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, some European countries have put a halt to their nuclear programmes, throwing the planned, widespread revival of nuclear power in Europe into doubt. The Fukushima disaster is the only other nuclear accident since Chernobyl to be rated seven, the highest scale on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).

"It's of utmost importance that we understand what kind of force humankind is dealing with so that our solutions ... meet the challenges of nuclear energy," Medvedev said. "Today, I sent proposals to other leaders ... aimed at guaranteeing the necessary development of nuclear energy in the world while preventing at the same time catastrophic global consequences [of accidents]."

Russia's government covered up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 for a number of days and Medvedev admitted that things were not done correctly. "The duty of the government is to tell its people the truth. We must admit that the government did not always behave in the right way. We must give absolutely accurate information about what is happening."

In the wake of Japan's disaster, Germany has postponed plans to extend the lives of older plants, Switzerland has halted its approval process for proposed nuclear projects, and Italy has put off a public referendum on nuclear power for at least a year, for fear that the Japanese disaster will result in Italians voting against nuclear power in the future. For additional information, see March 18, 2011, article - Germany to Shut Down Oldest Nuclear Power Stations, March 16, 2011, article - Switzerland Halts Nuclear Plant Programme and April 25, 2011, article - Italy Pulls Plug on Nuclear Power 'Indefinitely'.

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