U.N. Studies Chernobyl Aftermath

[John M Priest Jr <priestj@DTEENERGY.COM>]

U.N. Studies Chernobyl Aftermath

  Wed Feb 6, 8:42 PM ET



  By GERALD NADLER, Associated Press Writer



  Nearly 16 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, 200,000 people

still live in highly contaminated areas and 4.5 million

  residents in three countries are receiving financial help —

draining national budgets, according to a U.N. study

  released Wednesday.



   The study by four U.N. agencies called for "an entirely new approach"

to help those in a state of "chronic dependency" in

  Ukraine, Belarus and Russia by getting them jobs, fostering small

businesses, and reviving agriculture in the areas most

  affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster.



  "If active steps are not taken to resolve the human problems relating

to the accident, the fate of the communities blighted by

  Chernobyl will continue to haunt discussions on energy generation for

decades to come," the 75-page report said.



  The explosion and fire at Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor on April 26, 1986,

contaminated 23 percent of Belarus, 5 percent of

  Ukraine and 1.5 percent of Russia, according to the report. It also

spewed a radioactive cloud across Europe.



  At least 8,000 people have died, most from radiation-related diseases.



  Some 2,000 people have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and between

8,000 and 10,000 cases are expected to

  develop over the next 10 years, the report said.



  Although the most dangerously radiated areas near the Chernobyl plant

were evacuated, 200,000 people still live in

  severely contaminated areas, the report said. Many of those who were

resettled still don't have jobs.



  "Focusing on their needs and helping them take control of their

destinies must be a priority," said the report.



  The 4.5 million people still receiving government payments represent a

severe strain to national budgets, especially in

  Belarus and Ukraine, the report said.



  Over the last 10 years, Belarus, the state most affected by the

calamity, has spent more than $1 billion to help victims of

  the accident, said Kalman Missel, deputy U.N. coordinator for

Chernobyl.



  Ukraine last year spent $100 million, he said.



  The study said with the emergency phase of recovery over, the three

governments and the international community must

  now work toward "long overdue" extended development of the communities

hurt by the disaster.



  "Within the available budgets, it is the only real alternative to the

progressive breakdown of the recovery effort, the

  continuing hemorrhaging of scarce resources and continuing distress

for the people at the center of the problem," the report

  said.



  Ukraine closed the Chernobyl plant on Dec. 15, 2000, and the

international community gave $750 million to build a new

  containment shelter around the stricken reactor.



  But Kenzo Oshima, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of

Humanitarian Affairs, said the closure of the plant and

  funding for the new container does not mean the world community can

"close the file on the people who continue to live in

  the shadow of Chernobyl."



  "We must not turn our back on the government and people of the most

affected countries after a decade and a half of

  assistance," he said. "We must not leave the job half done."



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