[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 50 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3687-S3688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     10TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, on April 26, 1986, reactor number 4 
at the V.I. Lenin Atomic Power Plant in Chernobyl near Kiev, Ukraine 
exploded. The explosion released a cloud of radioactive steam into the 
atmosphere reported to contain about 200 times more radio activity than 
was released at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  The explosion took an enormous toll on the people directly exposed to 
the radiation emitted from the plant. Shortly after the explosion, 
Soviet officials admitted to 31 deaths among reactor operators and the 
team attempting to contain the damage. Thousands of workers were 
eventually exposed at the site.
  However, children have been the first among the general population to 
suffer from the effects of the explosion at Chernobyl. Children are 
most susceptible to the radioactive iodine emitted from Chernobyl 
because of their active

[[Page S3688]]

thyroid glands. Researchers in the region have seen a dramatic increase 
in thyroid cancer among children. However, this is only the earliest 
problem to make itself known and one of the few to be studied. The 
problem with estimating the toll on human life in the region is that 10 
years is a short period of time to see all of the impacts. Radioactive 
fallout is only beginning to show its damaging effects on the 
population.
  At the time of the explosion, the prevailing winds carried much of 
the radiation north into Belarus and points beyond. Excessive levels of 
radiation were recorded in Scandinavia, Great Britain, the 
Mediterranean, and Alaska in the first weeks after the explosion. About 
1000 acres of pine forest in the path of the first plume of the 
Chernobyl explosion died immediately as a result of direct fallout. A 
permanent 30-kilometer dead zone was established around the power 
station where human habitation is still forbidden today because of the 
high level of contamination. The Chernobyl area, known as the Polissia 
region, was once famous for its old-growth forests rich with mushrooms, 
berries and medicinal herbs. The community's well-being revolved around 
the health of the forest. Their dependency on the forest resulted in a 
very unique spirituality and culture in the region. After the accident, 
residents were forced to leave their homes and move to completely 
different environments. The inability to return to the land they once 
knew and worries about possible exposure to radiation now cause great 
stress among the population. Two of Chernobyl's four units remain 
functional today. Ukraine says it wants to completely close Chernobyl, 
but cannot function without the energy it provides and cannot afford to 
properly close the plant, even though radioactive material is now 
threatening water tables in the area. The American people should 
specifically lend their support to the efforts to make the area around 
Chernobyl as safe as possible. We should also work to improve the 
health, economic and environmental well-being of areas affected by the 
Chernobyl disaster. The Chernobyl explosion has been a devastating 
event for the entire world. Ukrainian-Americans have worked strenuously 
to lend support to their homeland. In my home State, the Michigan 
Committee--Chernobyl Challenge 1996 will be holding events to 
commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the explosion. On April 28, 
1996, a commemorative program will be held at St. Josaphat Ukrainian 
Catholic Church in Warren, MI. The guest speaker will be Ukraine's 
Ambassador to the United Nations, Anatoly Zlenko. There will also be 
blood drives held at the Ukrainian Cultural Center and at St. Michael 
Ukrainian Catholic Church in cooperation with the American Red Cross, 
where volunteers will bring to the public's attention the on-going 
tragedy in Ukraine. I salute their efforts to help Ukraine recover from 
the tragedy that occurred a decade ago at Chernobyl.

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