15th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER

Early day motion 654, tabled 10 May 2001 by Ann Clwyd (Labour). Signed by 16 members.

That this House notes that this year marks the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the world's worst civilian nuclear accident; further notes that the Chernobyl explosion was 200 times stronger than the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; deplores the fact that thousands of people in the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have died as a result, that millions more have been poisoned by the cloud of radiation emitted by the reactor, that the surrounding areas have been contaminated, with the radioactive dust remaining in the ground for thousands of years to come; and impoverished that there has been an alarming increase in thyroid cancer among children in Ukraine and Belarus, with such cancer rates running at 30 times the norm; that those working to alleviate the suffering of those who continue to be affected by the disaster are constrained by their very limited resources; and is concerned that action should be taken to make the structure at Chernobyl safe so as to prevent a future accident from occurring.

Signatures by party: Labour 14, Labour/Co-operative 2.