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Twenty years on from the world's worst environmental catastrophe, John Woodcock (for The Independent) revisits the still-poisonous landscapes of Ukraine and Belarus. But as Britain debates whether to build a new generation of nuclear power stations, are we forgetting the terrifying lessons of 26 April 1986?

As Tony Blair tries to convince us, as he seems to be convinced, of the benefits of a nice new set of nuclear power stations scattered across Britain for us to warm our hands in front of, The Independent reminds us of the reality of what happens when it all goes horribly wrong.

It's a harrowing story, so why not get yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee - or even a large brandy - before proceeding HERE.

And to those who point out that the Russian reactor was of a bad design therefore the same couldn't happen here, now or in the future in Britain?

I can only assume they're as demented as Tony Blair.

"To those sitting in offices, debating this issue, I have this simple message: to want more nuclear power rather than less is madness. I wish I could show these people what I see in mortuaries in my country. I wish I could show them the horror of what my experiments reveal. I would say to them, 'Do you need further proof?'

Professor Yuri Bandazhevsky, former rector of the medical institute in Gomel, who went public after noting an alarming increase in heart problems and birth defects among children after Chernobyl, when asked what his message to Tony Blair would be.

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DOUNREAY HAS SPRUNG A LEAK.
19/03/06

An old nuclear waste store at Dounreay on the northern coast of Scotland in Caithness has sprung a leak and contaminated the ground with radioactivity.

The 35ft deep concrete silo has been used to dump 27 years worth, some 650 cubic metres, of solids and sludges under water.

A manhole used when monitoring a loop of now contaminated water that runs round the silo has developed a defect, and some of the radioactive water has escaped into the ground.

The silo, built in the 1960s, failed to meet modern standards for storing medium-level waste. Under the decommissioning programme it was due to start being emptied in 2019, but this could be brought forward.

A Dounreay spokesman said the level of radioactivity in the surrounding loop was a million times lower than in the silo. “The measures now in place provide additional reassurance about the safe containment of the wastes, pending its retrieval,” he said.

Twenty million cubic metres of contaminated soil and rubble is expected to be produced by the decommissioning of 30 civil and military nuclear sites across the UK .


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