Rhodri urged to stick to anti-nuclear policy on Chernobyl anniversary

On the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Friends of the Earth Cymru has written to First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, praising the Welsh Assembly Government for resisting pressure to support the building of new nuclear power stations in Wales and urging it to stick to its policy. The group believes that Chernobyl should act as a warning against the building of any new nuclear power stations.

On the night of April 26th 1986 , a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power station in present day Ukraine went out of control and exploded releasing 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It took until May 6th to bring the fire and radioactive emissions under control.

While the Ukraine , Belarus and Russia bore the brunt of the emissions, radiation also spread over large parts of Scandinavia , central Europe and the UK . Due to meat contamination levels exceeding safety limits, almost 9,000 farms in the UK had restrictions placed on the movement and sale of sheep. Although officials stated that these restrictions would only last a matter of weeks, 359 farms and 176,000 sheep in Wales are still subject to the restrictions twenty years later.

The total health impacts are difficult to accurately assess. Thirty one on-site workers died in the first few days and in the main affected areas there has been an increase in cases of thyroid and breast cancer, leukaemia, psychological disorders and problems with pregnancy. Estimates of the deaths that are likely to result vary from 4,000 to 60,000 (see 'Friends of the Earth Chernobyl Briefing' below).

Friends of the Earth Cymru Assembly Campaigner, Gordon James, said:

"An important lesson to be learned from the Chernobyl disaster is that when nuclear power plants go wrong they can go wrong in big and unexpected ways. It has been twenty years since the accident but still the effects are being felt by hundreds of thousands of people. Even Wales has not been immune to Chernobyl 's radioactive fall-out.

"Twenty years on it is now time to put an end to nuclear power once and for all. Wales and the UK can meet their targets for tackling climate change and maintain fuel security by using clean, safe alternatives that are already available and which are being developed.

"The output of the Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey , which has experienced major shut-downs and has only operated at around 56 per cent of its full capacity since it opened, could be replaced by marine current turbines off the Anglesey coast and a small gas-fired combined heat and power plant at Anglesey Aluminium.

"We believe that the Welsh Assembly Government can take a lead in opposing the ill advised clamour for new nuclear power stations and demonstrate that cleaner and safer forms of energy can meet our needs. We support the Welsh Assembly Government's aim of making Wales a global showcase for clean energy. The Chernobyl disaster demonstrates that nuclear power has no role to play in such a scenario."