Magazine

Chernobyl:  The unforgettable fire

The name Chernobyl is familiar worldwide to all those who were witness on the ground and to the media reporting on the world’s biggest nuclear disaster. It was 26 April, 1986, when the No. 4 reactor at the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl (about 100 kilometres north of Kiev and only 7 km south of the border with Belarus in what was then the Soviet Union) went out of control during routine testing and shortly after overheated and exploded, spreading into the atmosphere a radioactive cloud that rained down across much of Europe.

What happened next everybody knows. The consequences are still visible today. Official documents show evidence of at least 1.800 thyroid cancer cases caused by the uptake of radioactive iodine. Overall there are more than 3 million victims – mostly Ukrainians and Belarussians – who endured massive psychological damage and other problems which remain widespread and profound in the region. These continue to result in cases of suicide, apathy and drinking problems.

Many pages have been written. Many stories have been told. But what is happening this year, 22 after the world’s worst nuclear accident, is most of the time forgotten by the media except on anniversaries. Few people are allowed to access the so-called “exclusion zone” - an area spanning 30 km around the plant. The zone around the reactor is still mostly deserted to this day.

However, investigating and reporting about what has certainly been identified as the world’s biggest nuclear catastrophe - as well as understanding its devastating after effects - is a priority. To that end, a delegation of EU-based journalists - in the framework of a press visit implemented by the European Journalism Centre - visited Chernobyl on 19 June.

The journalists passed through the three checkpoints that still separate the exclusive zone from the rest of the world, talked to experts who are part of the continuing clean-up operation at the doomed plant, and visited one of the ghost towns, Pripyat, was once home to some 50.000 people.

Chernobyl is still a no-man’s land. Mutations did indeed occur in plants and animals after the plant explosion. Leaves changed shape and some animals were born with physical deformities. The local fish and water supplies were poisoned.

Nevertheless, changes are happening: nature is flourishing again and rare species are returning in large numbers to the area. Small communities of residents are also gradually returning to their homes of their own free will. Most importantly, the construction of a huge new protective shelter for the reactor is taking place. It is slated to be finished in 2012. In November, 2007, a $505 million contract was signed by Ukrainian officials with a French-led consortium for this project, financed by an international fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. One third of the funds come from the European Union.

The topic of nuclear energy raises much controversy. Emotions run deep. If on the one hand it is one of the safest, cleanest methods for energy production, on the other hand the Chernobyl example shows how dangerous even a small human error can be in terms of its impact on the environment and on human beings’ health.

The 1986 accident is frequently compared to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That too was a catastrophe. The effects from the radiation were devastating. Nothing, however, can compare to Chernobyl, which keeps existing even in peacetime. Today this tragedy and its consequences are forgotten once again, until the next anniversary…

The visit to Chernobyl was part of an information briefing on the “European Neighbourhood Policy: Energy, Environment and Health” in Brussels and Kiev from 17 - 21 June, 2008. The briefing was organised by the European Journalism Centre at the initiative of Directorate General for External Relations of the European Commission.

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992-2007 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net