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Background of Chernobyl
On
April 26, 1986 at 1.23 am technicians at the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station in the Ukraine
allowed the power in the fourth reactor to fall as
part of a controlled experiment. To
carry out their tests, they deactivated several
major safety systems that would have shut
down the reactor in case of accident.
The
experiment went wrong. Two explosions blew the top
off the reactor building and a fire started in the
core which burned for several days. A cloud of
deadly radio activity dispersed into the surrounding
environment. This silent killer continued to pour
from the damaged reactor for ten days.
Children are particularly susceptible to radiation
induced illnesses and many have leukaemia, cancer of
the thyroid and other cancers. Babies are still
being born with serious deformities such as no arms,
no eyes or tumours.
Chernobyl Children Life Line looks after children
who are ill, organising visits to Great Britain to
give them a chance to live in a ‘clean’ environment
and eat uncontaminated foods for a month. Some
40,000 children from Belarus have visited Britain
since 1992. Many of the families keep in touch with
the children and some invite them for return visits
each year. The children have medical attention such
as dental care and having their eyes tested. It
costs approx. GBP270 (pounds sterling (due to
fluctuating airport taxes)) to bring each child to
the United Kingdom. The children’s charity always
pays for the travel costs of the first visit, from
then on the host family pays if they want the same
child to return in the future.
The
Chernobyl nuclear accident was the biggest nuclear
accident ever. The wind carried the radiation cloud
north over Belarus where 70% of the radiation fell.
The ground was heavily contaminated and will
continue to be for thousands of years. It is more
than 21 years since the accident, but it is not
over, in fact it is getting worse. The people live
with radiation all around them. They drink
contaminated water and wash with it. There is very
little food in Belarus and what there is, has a high
chance of being contaminated. Many people are close
to starvation with only boiled potatoes to eat.
Life is
hard in Belarus and inflation is out of control.
Doctors are paid the equivalent of USD20 (U.S.
Dollars) per month. An airline pilot USD80 per
month. A Christmas tree costs GBP100!
The
people of Belarus are charming and hospitable. The
children are happy and well looked after. Many
children are in orphanages where brothers and
sisters in different age groups cannot be together.
Foster homes are now being built to provide a home
where all the children from one family can live
together.
Facts
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