Twenty-two years ago, the most serious accident in nuclear history disrupted the lives of millions of people. Massive amounts of radioactive materials were released into the environment resulting in a radioactive cloud that spread over much of Europe. The greatest contamination occurred around the Chernobyl nuclear power station in areas that are now part of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. People in Czechoslovakia were not in acute danger, but like others in the communist block they learnt about the nuclear accident many days after it happened and the media censorship ordered by the communist regime prevented them from taking even the most basic precautions.
Chernobyl
Chernobyl nuclear disaster shocks the world
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
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Repairs completed on Chernobyl protective shell
Wednesday, August 20, 2008MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Atomstroyexport, a Russian nuclear power construction company, said on Tuesday it had completed repairs on the concrete and steel shell encasing the Chernobyl reactor one month ahead of schedule.
The work involved repairs of an area around 420 square meters over the central part of the reactor's protective shelter.
Finnish wild mushrooms still exhibit elevated levels of caesium from Chernobyl nuclear accident
Monday, August 11, 2008The wild mushrooms tested in various parts of Finland still exhibit elevated levels of the radioactive caesium-137 that originates from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, while the caesium content of berries and animals has already become almost zero.
In addition to mushrooms, some hares and the predatory fish in small lakes still contain radioactive caesium.
Chernobyl Memories, Cancer Deaths Haunt Turkey's Nuclear Plans
Thursday, July 24, 2008July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Hale Oguz blames the cancer deaths of six relatives on the Chernobyl disaster across the Black Sea more than 20 years ago. Now she's fighting plans for a nuclear plant near her home in Sinop on Turkey's northern coast.
''Chernobyl isn't history for us; it's very fresh,'' said Oguz, 54, as she walked her two dogs on a ridge overlooking the forested peninsula where the government plans a reactor. ''We are about to turn this paradise into a hell.''
Doomed Chernobyl reactor to be buried in giant steel coffin
Monday, April 28, 2008KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Twenty-two years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, work is under way on a colossal new shelter to cover the ruins and deadly radioactive contents of the exploded Soviet-era power plant.
For years, the original iron and concrete shelter that was hastily constructed over the reactor has been leaking radiation, cracking and threatening to collapse. The new one, an arch of steel, would be big enough to contain the Statue of Liberty.
Belarus rally chides nuclear plan on Chernobyl date
Sunday, April 27, 2008MINSK (Reuters) - Opposition protesters marched through the capital of Belarus on Saturday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and denounce plans to build an atomic power station in the ex-Soviet state.
Belarus was the country most affected by the world's worst nuclear accident and the anniversary is traditionally the year's biggest rally for opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko, accused in the West of violating fundamental human rights.
Chernobyl still felt in Wales
Friday, April 25, 2008Twenty two years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Plaid MEP Jill Evans says tomorrow's anniversary (Saturday) serves as a timely reminder of why nuclear power must be phased out.
The radioactive cloud spread radiation from Chernobyl right across Europe, and more than 300 farms in the north of Wales are still affected by restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the disaster.
Ms Evans visited the the site of the nuclear power plant two years ago with a group of MEPs and met local people whose lives were shattered by the disaster as well as people who are now working to secure the site.
Nuclear waste storage inaugurated in Chernobyl
Friday, April 25, 2008KIEV (AFP) — Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko Wednesday inaugurated a nuclear waste storage and processing centre in the contaminated zone around the Chernobyl nuclear station ahead of the catastrophe's 22nd anniversary, his press service said.
The centre's first module, constructed with the European Commission's aid, would be launched by the end of the year, Valentin Melnichenko, a project official, told AFP.
Chernobyl’s Harvest
Sunday, April 13, 2008It was 1:23 a.m. local time, April 26, 1986, when the operator flipped a switch to shut down Reactor 4. As he did so, a power surge triggered a blast of steam that blew the lid off of the top of the reactor, releasing a surge of radioactive particles into the spring night. A second explosion, again caused by the sudden buildup of pressure, turned part of the reactor into a fireball, sending more radioactive poison into the atmosphere.
Chernobyl, 22 Years Later
Thursday, April 3, 2008(CBS) Twenty-two years after the world's worst nuclear accident, radiation danger at Chernobyl is still so severe that a 16-mile area remains sealed - reached only through two checkpoints. CBS News correspondent Bill Plante was allowed inside with a camera crew.
The meltdown left a simmering stew of toxic radioactivity under the rubble, covered by a hastily built shelter that's crumbling.
