Chernobyl’s legacy for Belarus

By James Wilson, Director of the Belarus EU Business Council

Last Sunday marked the 29th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

At 1.23 am on the morning of 26 April, 1986 a man-made accident with the most devastating consequences ever seen in world history occurred with an explosion in the 4th power generating unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located in a small Ukrainian town called Prypiat, a few kilometres from the Belarus border.

The territory of Belarus received 70% of the radioactive fallout from the accident. As a result, nearly 23% of its territory was contaminated. The total cost of the investment needed to fight this contamination in Belarus alone, over a period of 30 years, has been estimated at $235 billion. This is equivalent to 32 times the annual budget of Belarus.

The legacy of the Chernobyl accident affects every aspect of daily life in the affected regions in Belarus. The radioactive pollution of soil causes food contamination as well as social and psychological problems. The deterioration of living conditions in the contaminated areas is only part of the problem. But it is the health of people that causes the greatest concern.

Belarusian oncologists report an increase in all types of cancer since the Chernobyl disaster, but especially a high incidence of thyroid cancer in children.  29 years later, the Government of Belarus is still spending annually about 10% of the state budget to mitigate the consequences of the disaster. The main task is to safeguard the health of people living in the contaminated areas, to reduce the risk of future radioactive contamination and to improve the quality of life in the contaminated areas. This is a daunting task and Belarus is highly appreciative of humanitarian assistance from other countries to support their own national efforts.

Regrettably, memories are short, and awareness has declined in recent times of the Chernobyl disaster and the need to tackle the legacy problems it has left behind. The long-term consequences for the health of the population and the environment continue. The United Nations recognised this catastrophe as a regional disaster that transcends boundaries and whose ecological consequences are unprecedented. The General Assembly assigned to the UN a role to coordinate international remedial action for the consequences of this disaster. The General Assembly also requested the UN Secretary General to establish close collaboration with the European Union and other regional organizations to work together.

As a result, Belarus has benefitted from humanitarian assistance, compassionate aid provided by societies of friendship with Belarus, non-governmental organizations and individuals. The main focus of their activities has been to welcome Belarusian children from polluted areas for rehabilitation as well as sending medical equipment and medicines to Belarus. But much more still needs to be done, and there is still a need to expand international co-operation to tackle the historical legacy of Chernobyl.

Potential activities include cooperation with medical institutions on patient treatment issues, especially children, the training of medical personnel, exchange of experience, training of Belarusian experts and the delivery of equipment to undertake decontamination work.

Please spare a thought of the immense human cost that one human error in the production chain of power generation for our domestic electricity made 29 years ago. Ask yourself what you can do to mark this sombre anniversary, and what you can do to make a difference to the millions of young people whose life, health and world were changed forever by the Chernobyl disaster.

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