[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 57 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           13TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 1999

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, thirteen years ago today, an innocuous 
experiment designed to test the energy output of the No. 4 unit at the 
Chernobyl nuclear facility in Northern Ukraine precipitated the worst 
nuclear accident in history. The resulting explosions blew off a 2,000-
ton metal plate that sealed the top of the reactor. The graphite core 
of the reactor burned out of control for days, releasing more than 100 
tons of lethally radioactive material into the environment.
  The human cost of this disaster is mind numbing. It is unlikely we 
will ever know how many deaths can be directly attributed to Chernobyl, 
but the figure is measured in the tens of thousands. Hundreds of 
thousands more were subjected to radiation poisoning.
  The resulting damage from the Chernobyl disaster was greatly 
multiplied by the efforts of the Soviet Union to cover up the incident. 
It was nearly a week before the Soviet Union provided the world with 
anything more than a few sketchy details concerning the accident. 
Rescue workers and firefighters were initially sent to the scene 
without protective gear. For nearly all of these individuals, this was 
a death sentence. The 40,000 inhabitants of the nearby city of Pripyat, 
located just two miles from Chernobyl, were largely kept in the dark 
about the accident. They were not evacuated for days. Today Pripyat is 
a ghost town.
  More than a decade later, the consequences of the Chernobyl accident 
continue to plague Eastern Europe. Ukraine has been especially 
impacted. According to the World Health Organization, thyroid cancer 
among children living near Chernobyl has risen to levels 80 times 
higher than normal. Vast tracts of what was once prime farm land 
remains dangerously contaminated and will remain so for decades to 
come. The ten-story protective sarcophagus that was later built around 
the ruins of the reactor is in need of repair and replacement. The 
legacy of Chernobyl is a heavy burden for the people of Ukraine, and 
our country must do more to help.
  As we observe the thirteenth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, 
let us resolve to learn from this tragedy and prevent it from happening 
again.

                          ____________________