Moscow, Kiev, 9 March 2016 - Survivors of Chernobyl are still eating food
with radioactive contamination above permissible limits thirty years after the
nuclear catastrophe forced hundreds of thousands of people from their
homes.
The Greenpeace International report, Nuclear Scars: The lasting legacy of
Chernobyl and Fukushima exposes the impact that nuclear accidents in Fukushima
and Chernobyl continue to have on the day-to-day lives of millions of people.
The report compiles scientific research, survivor profiles and radiation
monitoring work carried out by Greenpeace in Japan, Ukraine and Russia.
“For communities in Fukushima there’s no end in sight - nearly 100,000
people haven’t returned home and many won’t be able to,” said Junichi Sato,
Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan. “The nuclear industry and governments
around the world have perpetuated the myth that people’s lives can return to
normal after a nuclear accident. But the evidence exposes this as political
rhetoric, not scientific fact.”
Greenpeace findings indicate that governments are reducing radiation
protection in both Japan and in countries contaminated by Chernobyl.
Environmental and food monitoring programs have been cut around Chernobyl while
Japan wants the majority of evacuees to return home by 2017 even if their
communities are still contaminated. Greenpeace is calling on governments to
continue to provide proper financial support to survivors of Chernobyl and
Fukushima.
Radiation monitoring found that forests around Chernobyl and Fukushima have
become repositories of radioactive contamination. Greenpeace says these
radioactive forests put near-by communities at risk of radiation exposure or
recontamination.
Extensive health effects have been observed in communities impacted by both
Fukushima and Chernobyl. In contaminated areas around Chernobyl, death rates are
higher, birth rates are lower, incidence of cancer has increased and mental
health effects are widespread. [1] In Fukushima, a rise in thyroid cancer
incidence amongst children has been observed that can not be fully explained by
the widespread screening, and almost a third of mothers living close to the
damaged reactors show symptoms of depression. [2]
“Millions of lives changed after Fukushima and Chernobyl. We
shouldn’t forget the immense suffering these disasters continue to cause.
We need to urgently phase out nuclear and move towards 100% renewable energy -
the only safe, clean energy that can meet the world’s energy need,” said
Greenpeace senior energy analyst, Shawn-Patrick Stensil.
Five years after Fukushima about 100,000 people still haven’t returned
home. Thirty years after Chernobyl about 5 million people live in
contaminated areas.
ENDS
Notes to editors
See the Nuclear scars report here:
[1] Greenpeace International report, 2016. Nuclear Scars: The lasting
legacy of Chernobyl and Fukushima, Chapter 3.
[2] Greenpeace International report, 2016. Nuclear Scars: The lasting
legacy of Chernobyl and Fukushima, pg 26-27.
Photo & Video:
[1] Photos of monitoring work carried out by Greenpeace can be accessed
here:
and a full collection of images of Greenpeace work in Japan are here:
[2] Video can be accessed here:
Media contacts:
Ecological North
West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia