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Chernobyl

10 years later, Chernobyl mysteries linger

April 26, 1996
Web posted at: 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT)

From Correspondent Eileen O'Connor

KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- A new radiation incident was discovered Thursday at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The incident, a spillage of radioactive dust, was blamed on sloppy work practices. A spokesman for the station said it had been cleaned up and did not pose a threat to the environment.

But it served as a reminder to mourners preparing to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the world's worst-ever nuclear accident.

Still radioactive

The explosion at Chernobyl, in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine, spread radiation across Europe and affected millions of lives. Ten years later, the reason the accident happened is still not known. A Soviet investigation blamed the plant's operators. Today, there are suspicions that the plant itself was to blame, and that something similar could happen in any of the nuclear reactors of its type.

There are 14 other reactors designed exactly like it in this region. "Before this type of reactor will (cease) functioning, such kinds of accidents will be possible," said Ukraine environment minister Yuri Kostenko.

Reactors

Some estimate that it will cost a billion dollars to shut down each of the reactors, not counting the money to build replacements. But even after the disaster at Chernobyl, the countries in the region remain committed to nuclear energy.

Although not all residents in the region agree with their governments' commitment, few could argue that they focus on nuclear power without knowing the risks. Near Chernobyl, an exclusion zone has been drawn, an area where radiation is so high 10 years later that it is still considered unsafe for humans. The area is silent, its half-emptied houses showing evidence of a panicked flight, lying in memorial to the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Even more than the barren region, the children of the Ukraine are a reminder of what happens when the roof is blown off a nuclear reactor. They have 60 times more cases of thyroid cancer per year than the norm, and significantly higher rates of developing certain types of tumors.

Victims

Yet some authorities continue to argue over whether there were merely thousands, or hundreds of thousands of victims. Some nuclear experts downplay the effects, calling the claims of "hundreds of thousands of victims" overblown. These same nuclear experts are often paid for by the nuclear industry, say the locals, who believe the effects of Chernobyl belie the safety claims of that industry.

For that reason, many in this area are anxiously sounding the warning, fearful that if Chernobyl is shut down and covered over, people will simply forget what happened, and will overlook the lessons that must be learned.

Ukraine's neighbor, Belarus, was of the former Soviet Republics the one worst affected by Chernobyl fallout. "We think that there are very many unknown long-term consequences of the disaster that should be known and should be appreciated, and should be studied by all humanity," said Ivan Antonovich, the deputy foreign minister of Belarus.

Otherwise, he says, humanity will pay for its ignorance.

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