The Lasting Legacies of Chernobyl and Fukushima from Greenpeace

A new report marks the 5th anniversary of the Fukushima and the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disasters. The recently published Greenpeace report “Nuclear scars: The Lasting Legacies of Chernobyl and Fukushima” (2016, March 9)  promotes research by the Greenpeace’s experts who carried out radiation field work to expose the unrelenting crises in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Japan that thousands of people still live with on a daily basis. It is 30 years since the beginning of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It is also five years since the Fukushima disaster began. To mark these anniversaries, Greenpeace has commissioned substantial reviews of scientific studies examining the continued radioactive contamination in the affected areas, and the health and social effects on the impacted populations.

It is 30 years since the beginning of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It is also five years since the Fukushima disaster began. To mark these anniversaries, Greenpeace has commissioned substantial reviews of scientific studies examining the continued radioactive contamination in the affected areas, and the health and social effects on the impacted populations.

There is no simple or easy way to clean up an aftermath of a nuclear accident. Indeed, this report shows that there is no such thing in reality as a complete decontamination of radioactively contaminated areas. Greenpeace commissioned a team of scientists led by Professor Omelianets, Principal Scientist for the Laboratory of Medical Demography at the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (NRCRM), to review the published national and international scientific data and research on the health impacts from the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters. Their report Health Effects of Chernobyl and Fukushima: 30 and 5 years down the line testifies to the broad impacts on the lives and health of many generations after a nuclear disaster. Professor Valerii Kashparov, the Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology (UIAR) of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NUBiP of Ukraine), and his team reviewed the published scientific research on the extent of Chernobyl’s contamination 30 years later. Their report, Chernobyl: 30 Years of Radioactive Contamination Legacy found Chernobyl’s contamination to be still extensive. David Boilley, a nuclear physicist and chairman of Association pour le Contrôle de la Radioactivité dans l’Ouest (ACRO), was commissioned to review current research into the contamination from the Fukushima disaster in order to gain an accurate picture of the current situation.

Fukushima & Chernobyl

The report also provides a citation from Alexander Belyakov’s latest article on page 37: “Inconsistent and contradictory information related to the safety of food in case of radioactive contamination caused an increased distrust of experts and government authorities following both Fukushima and Chernobyl”. 174 (174. Belyakov, A. 2015. From Chernobyl to Fukushima: an interdisciplinary framework for managing and communicating food security risks after nuclear plant accidents, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (2015) 5:404–417.)