Latest Chernobyl Stories

On April 26, 1986, history's greatest nuclear accident took place northwest of the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. Despite the scale of the disaster, 25 years later, we still do not know it's real effects. An international team of investigators has shown for the first time that the color of birds' plumage may make them more vulnerable to radioactivity.Radiation causes oxidative stress, damages biological molecules and may have "important" negative effects on organisms in relatively...

Twenty-five years ago today, the world's worst nuclear disaster took place at Chernobyl in Ukraine, leaving 30 people dead and many more exposed to radiation.Workers at the Chernobyl atomic power station were carrying out a test on reactor four when operating errors and design flaws sparked explosions in the early hours of April 26, 1986. Two workers were killed by the explosion and 28 other rescuers and staff died of radiation exposure in the following months.  Moscow did not report the...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It has been 25 years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Now, researchers say investigating that incident may help us better understand health consequences of nuclear accidents in the past, present, and future.Radioactive elements with a long half-life (the time it takes for half the sample to decay), especially caesium and strontium, will be prevalent in the environment for decades to come. Radioactive iodine, despite having a half-life of just eight days, can cause...

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) and the Institute for Policy Studies' Robert Alvarez will hold a joint press conference on Tuesday, April 26 on the ongoing impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to public health 25 years after the accident, the continuing nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, and the lessons from both for U.S. public health and safety. PSR will be unveiling a new online interactive...

After a week of meetings organized by the Ukrainian government in the capital Kiev, those in attendance decided that the Chernobyl cleanup will remain expensive and a hassle for many more years. The government organized the four-day event to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. An international donors' conference raised $802 million worth of pledges to build a shelter to cover the exploded reactor building for the next century.  However, the pledges fell short...

In a global online video address published today Maria Sharapova expresses her solidarity with those affected by the Chernobyl disaster New York, NY (PRWEB) April 21, 2011 In a global online video address published today in advance of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova expresses her solidarity with hundreds of thousands of people who were uprooted from their homes surrounding the site. Sharapova has been a Goodwill Ambassador for...

KYIV, Ukraine, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych together with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Director of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano visited Chornobyl nuclear power plant and examined the exact model of its 4th reactor in its current state. Ban Ki-moon thanked Viktor Yanukovych for making such a far-sighted decision to host a nuclear energy Summit in Ukraine. "One of my priorities in office is creating...

Japanese authorities have raised the nuclear crisis rating to the highest level of seven. The new decision reflects the amount of radiation leaked at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The last time level seven was applied was during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, where 10 times as much radiation was emitted. Japanese Prime Minster Naoto Kan said radiation leaks at the plant were starting to decline. Kan said in a news conference that The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) will provide a...

KYIV, Ukraine, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 26, 2011, Ukraine observes the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster that remains the worst nuclear catastrophe in contemporary history, which affected the very attitude to the nuclear power worldwide. The consequences of this accident are still fresh in the memory of the European population according to the survey conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group conjointly with First International Resources on Feb. 21 through...

KYIV, Ukraine, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Europeans supported cutting down investments into nuclear energy, according to the results of a survey conducted by Benenson Strategy Group together with First International Resourcesin late Feb. through the first half of March, 2011. The relevance of the survey on prospect of nuclear energy is increasing due to the recent developments at Japan's Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant and forthcoming 25th anniversary of Chornobyl disaster. The...