International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day

The International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is observed every year on April 26 to raise awareness of the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the risks of nuclear energy in general. The United Nations (UN) proclaimed the day on April 26, 2016, that marked the 30th anniversary of the 1986 nuclear disaster.

The United Nations launched the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network. The network provides support to the national, international and public programmes aimed at sustainable development of these territories.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Adi Roche, the founder of the nonprofit organization Chernobyl Children International, called for efforts to bring about a “renewal and recommitment to discover new means, new initiatives to alleviate further the suffering of the people in the affected stricken lands.

On this day, Member States of the UN, along with international organizations, are encouraged to raise awareness of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and the risks of nuclear energy. People around the world also remember the victims of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Others travel to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The fire explosion spread a huge radioactive cloud over Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. More than 8.4 million people were exposed to radioactive waves. In 1991, the Chernobyl Trust Fund was created by the United Nations.

According to official reports, thirty-one people died immediately and 600,000 “liquidators,” involved in fire-fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to high doses of radiation. Based on the official reports, nearly 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were exposed to radiation, which is more than the population of Austria. About 155,000 sq. km of territories in the three countries were contaminated.

Nearly 404,000 people were resettled, but millions continued to live in an environment where continued residual exposure created a range of adverse effects.

(with sources inputs)

Published on: Monday, April 25, 2022, 08:47 PM IST