Chernobyl Disaster a Lesson Not Learned in Canada

OTTAWA--Sunday, April 26, will mark the 23rd Anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear power plant accident in history.  On that day in 1986, explosions destroyed Chernobyl’s Unit 4 reactor core and the result was a cloud of radioactive contamination, equivalent to 400 times that of the Hiroshima bomb, over large parts of Europe, particularly then-Soviet Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

“Although the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl was a different technology from the CANDU, it is worth remembering that no reactor design precludes the possibility of catastrophic accident.  Today we thank all those Canadian families who have devoted themselves to help the children of Chernobyl, giving them healthy care-free vacations here. With an eye on the future, we need to promote the shift to renewable green energy and end the spectre of the nuclear threat," said Green Leader Elizabeth May. 

“We do not need to take the risk.  We have the technology and the know how to phase-out every reactor in Canada and still more than meet electricity needs while continuing to export to the United States,” she continued.

The Chernobyl disaster happened 23 years ago but it continues to inflict pain and suffering on thousands of people. There is an epidemic of thyroid cancer in the areas contaminated by fallout from the Chernobyl disaster.  A World Health Organization report issued in 2006 said 5,000 people who were children and adolescents at the time of the accident had so far been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and there might be up to 9,000 excess cancer deaths due to radiation contamination.  In the Ukraine alone, official numbers qualify 2.3 million "having suffered from the catastrophe.”

The Canadian government has failed to learn from the Chernobyl disaster. It continues to back Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. (AECL) firing the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for enforcing safety regulations rather than sanctioning AECL for lying to the CNSC. Subsequently the government has played down leaks from the same Chalk River reactor into the Ottawa River the source of drinking water for nearly a million Canadians.

“These actions should serve as a warning. The government is more concerned with supporting the nuclear industry than the safety of Canadians. The anniversary of Chernobyl is a good day to let your elected official know whether you want billions of taxpayer’s money invested in a boondoggle like nuclear energy,” said Ms. May.

Canada’s nuclear power plants are nearing the end of their life-span, providing an opportunity to take another direction for generating electricity, a path that does not require a huge risk to human health and the environment.  Nuclear is also the most expensive energy source in the world and many European countries are choosing instead to invest in clean, renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectricity.

“We need to phase-out all nuclear power by shifting our investments into truly renewable energy, including solar and wind, and ensure that a tragedy like Chernobyl will not happen again,” said Amy Collard, the Green’s Natural Resources Critic.

-30-

Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca