STATEMENT: Environmental association comments on 20 years after Chornobyl (04/23/06)

THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHORNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER

STATEMENT: Environmental association comments on 20 years after Chornobyl

Following is the text of a "news statement" released on April 17 by the Ukrainian-American Environmental Association, which is based in both Rivne, Ukraine, and Washington, D.C.

Twenty years ago, on April 26, 1986, the world experienced the worst commercial nuclear accident in history when the Chornobyl reactor near Kyiv exploded.

Today, the nuclear industry is attempting to revive itself - ostensibly as a solution to climate change. Notwithstanding Chornobyl's heavy toll on the health of its citizens and the local environment, Ukrainian officials are contemplating the construction of 11 new reactors. In addition, 12 new reactors have been publicly proposed for the United States. A new reactor is now under construction in Finland, while India, China, Bulgaria, Russia and other countries are building or actively considering building new reactors.

Government leaders in Ukraine, the United States and other countries who advocate a return to nuclear power have failed to learn the lessons of Chornobyl.

Twenty years later, nuclear power remains a highly dangerous technology, whose safety depends heavily on the absence of human error and the certainty that plants can be protected against terrorist attack and nuclear materials against theft.

Twenty years later, nuclear power remains the most expensive energy technology available and one that cannot compete in the marketplace unless heavily subsidized by the government and shielded from the responsibility for the costs associated with insurance, decommissioning and waste disposal.

Twenty years later, neither Ukraine, the United States, nor any other nation has developed the technology, or the sites, to permanently isolate lethal, long-lived radioactive waste from the environment.

Yet, 20 years later, one thing has changed.

Today, renewable energy and energy- efficient technologies have matured to the point that they not only obviate any need for new nuclear construction but also can enable the phase-out of existing plants and sharp reductions in the use of fossil fuels.

Energy efficiency alone could reduce energy use in the United States by at least 20 percent and arguably up to 40 percent or more (compared to the 8 percent of total energy supply provided by nuclear power). In Ukraine, which now consumes more than four times as much energy per unit of national product as does the U.S., efficiency measures could curb consumption by at least 60 percent (compared to the 12 percent now provided by nuclear power).

Renewable energy sources (e.g., biomass/biofuels, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) which now provide 7 percent of U.S. energy needs and 3 percent of Ukrainian energy needs are technically and economically capable of at least tripling their contribution in both countries within the next 15 to 20 years. Coupled with aggressive energy efficiency programs, they could meet the bulk of both countries' energy needs by mid-century, while simultaneously reducing reliance on fossil fuels and energy imports as well as slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

Twenty years after Chornobyl, the lesson for both Ukraine and the United States remains: A nuclear future is dangerous, expensive and environmentally destructive. Moreover, it is not necessary. There are safer, cleaner, cheaper and more socially acceptable alternatives available now.

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