DATE=04-30-96 TYPE=SPECIAL ENGLISH FEATURE NUMBER=7-17986 TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #1863 - CHERNOBYL TENTH ANNIVERSARY BYLINE=OLIVER CHANLER TELEPHONE=619-2585 DATELINE=WASHINGTON EDITOR=CHRISTINE JOHNSON CONTENT= (THEME) VOICE ONE: THIS IS _____________. VOICE TWO: AND THIS IS ____________ , WITH SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, A V-O-A SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM ABOUT RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE. (THEME) VOICE ONE: LAST WEEK WAS THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLD'S WORST NUCLEAR ACCIDENT. IT HAPPENED ON APRIL TWENTY-SIXTH, NINETEEN-EIGHTY-SIX. AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE DESTROYED ONE OF THE REACTORS AT THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER CENTER. CHERNOBYL IS IN UKRAINE. AT THE TIME, UKRAINE WAS A REPUBLIC OF THE SOVIET UNION. VOICE TWO: THE EXPLOSION TORE A HOLE IN THE REACTOR BUILDING. RADIOACTIVE GAS, DUST, AND OTHER MATERIALS BURST INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. ONE WORKER AT THE POWER CENTER LATER WROTE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. HE SAID: "IT SEEMED AS IF THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END. . .I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES; I SAW THE REACTOR RUINED BY THE EXPLOSION. IT WAS NUCLEAR HELL." VOICE ONE: THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE AT CHERNOBYL RELEASED ABOUT FIFTY TONS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. MOST OF THE MATERIAL FELL IN THE CHERNOBYL AREA. BUT THE WIND CARRIED LARGE AMOUNTS TO OTHER PARTS OF UKRAINE AND THEN FARTHER. THE DEADLY MATERIAL FELL ON BELARUS AND RUSSIA. IT FELL ON COUNTRIES IN EUROPE AND SCANDINAVIA. AS TIME PASSED, MEASURABLE AMOUNTS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FROM CHERNOBYL WAS FOUND AS FAR AWAY AS NORTH AMERICA AND JAPAN. ((MUSIC BRIDGE)) VOICE TWO: THE FIRST WORD THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG CAME FROM SWEDEN. IT WAS MORE THAN A DAY AFTER THE ACCIDENT. SCIENTISTS NOTED LARGE AMOUNTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION IN THE ATMOSPHERE. THEY KNEW THERE HAD BEEN SOME KIND OF NUCLEAR ACCIDENT. THEY ALSO KNEW THE WIND WAS SPREADING THE RADIATION OVER A WIDE AREA. AT FIRST, THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT DENIED THE REPORTS. THEN THE SOVIET NEWS AGENCY TASS SAID A NUCLEAR REACTOR HAD BEEN DAMAGED. BUT IT DID NOT SAY ANY RADIATION HAD BEEN RELEASED. THIS WAS NOT CONFIRMED UNTIL THREE DAYS LATER. VOICE ONE: AT CHERNOBYL, WORKERS IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO COVER THE REACTOR TO PREVENT MORE RADIATION FROM LEAKING. HELICOPTER PILOTS DROPPED THOUSANDS OF TONS OF SAND, LEAD, AND BORON ON THE REACTOR. OTHER WORKERS SURROUNDED IT WITH A HUGE COVER OF CONCRETE. WORKERS ALSO BUILT A SECOND CONCRETE FLOOR UNDER THE REACTOR SO THAT RADIOACTIVE FUEL WOULD NOT LEAK INTO THE GROUND AND POISON THE WATER SUPPLY. EXPERTS SAID THE REACTOR HAD TO BE ENCLOSED, BECAUSE ITS RADIOACTIVITY WOULD BE DANGEROUS FOR CENTURIES. VOICE TWO: THE DAY AFTER THE ACCIDENT, SOVIET OFFICIALS BEGAN MOVING PEOPLE FROM THE CHERNOBYL AREA. MORE THAN ONE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND PEOPLE LIVING WITHIN THIRTY KILOMETERS OF THE REACTOR WERE MOVED FROM THEIR HOMES. UKRAINE'S CAPITAL, KIEV, IS ONE-HUNDRED-TEN KILOMETERS FROM CHERNOBYL. OFFICIALS DID NOT FORCE ANYONE TO LEAVE KIEV, YET THOUSANDS DID. SOVIET GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS TOLD THE PEOPLE REMAINING IN KIEV TO KEEP CHILDREN INSIDE AND TO CLOSE ALL WINDOWS. THEY ADVISED EVERYONE TO WASH VEGETABLES BEFORE EATING AND TO WASH THEIR HAIR EACH DAY. THEY ALSO ADVISED PEOPLE TO WASH THE STREETS AND TO CLEAN THEIR HOMES CAREFULLY. OFFICIALS HOPED THESE MEASURES WOULD PROTECT PEOPLE FROM RADIOACTIVE DUST. IT IS NOT CLEAR IF ANY OF THESE MEASURES WERE EFFECTIVE. VOICE ONE: THERE HAVE BEEN MANY REPORTS OF DEATHS CAUSED BY THE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL. HOWEVER, NO ONE IS SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT THE NUMBER OF DEATHS LINKED TO THE ACCIDENT WILL EVER BE KNOWN. IN RECENT YEARS, HEALTH OFFICIALS IN UKRAINE AND BELARUS HAVE NOTED INCREASES IN HEALTH PROBLEMS IN THEIR COUNTRIES. SOME RESEARCHERS SAY THESE INCREASES COULD BE THE RESULT OF MORE CLOSE OBSERVATION OF HEALTH PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT. DURING A RECENT CONFERENCE ON CHERNOBYL, UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS WOULD NOT DISCUSS HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AFFECTED BY THE ACCIDENT. VOICE TWO: THE CONFERENCE WAS HELD AT YALE UNIVERSITY AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES. DOCTOR WLADIMIR WERTELECKI [VLA DEE MEER VER TUH LEH KEY] WAS AMONG THE HEALTH EXPERTS WHO ATTENDED THE CONFERENCE. DOCTOR WERTELECKI SAYS CHERNOBYL IS AN ACCIDENT THAT IS NOT JUST A THING OF THE PAST. IT IS AN ACCIDENT THAT IS STILL HAPPENING AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. HE SAYS RADIATION RELEASED BY THE ACCIDENT REMAINS IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONTINUES TO AFFECT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE. HE SAYS THERE WILL BE GROWING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM THE DISEASE LEUKEMIA AS A RESULT OF RADIATION RELEASED FROM CHERNOBYL. VOICE ONE: DOCTOR DANIEL HRYHORCZUK [HREE HOR CHUCK] ALSO ATTENDED THE CONFERENCE ON CHERNOBYL. DOCTOR HRYHORCZUK SAYS THERE HAS BEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN THYROID CANCER IN UKRAINE AND BELARUS SINCE APRIL, NINETEEN-EIGHTY-SIX. EXPERTS SAY THE PRESENT RATE OF THYROID CANCER IN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA IS ONE-HUNDRED TIMES HIGHER THAN IT WAS BEFORE THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT. RESEARCHERS SAY THEY EXPECT EVEN MORE CASES OF THYROID CANCER IN THE FUTURE. VOICE TWO: UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN IS SERHEI KOMISSARENKO. MISTER KOMISSARENKO IS AN EXPERT ON DISEASES AND HOW THEY CAN SPREAD. HE SAYS MANY KINDS OF CANCER TAKE MORE THAN TEN YEARS TO APPEAR. SO, HE SAYS, IT DIFFICULT TO SAY HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM CANCERS CAUSED BY THE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL. DOCTORS IN BELARUS, UKRAINE, AND RUSSIA SAY MANY, MANY PEOPLE ARE SICK. HOWEVER, THEY SAY THE MOST WIDESPREAD SICKNESS IS FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN EFFECTS FROM CHERNOBYL. THEY SAY FEAR AND OTHER MENTAL PROBLEMS ARE AS SERIOUS AND DEADLY AS THE CANCERS CAUSED BY THE RADIATION. ((MUSIC BRIDGE)) VOICE ONE: AT LEAST NINE-MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL TEN YEARS AGO. IN BELARUS, UKRAINE, AND RUSSIA, FOUR-HUNDRED-THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF RADIATION. THOUSANDS MORE STILL LIVE IN AREAS THAT ARE CONSIDERED POISONED. THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CHERNOBYL ARE MANY. SOME OF THE RICHEST AGRICULTURAL LAND IN UKRAINE, BELARUS, AND RUSSIA IS CONSIDERED DEAD. NO CROPS ARE GROWN. NO FARMERS WORK THE SOIL. RADIATION HAS POISONED THE LAND, PROBABLY FOR CENTURIES. ALTHOUGH SOME PROTECTIVE MEASURES WERE TAKEN SOON AFTER THE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT, POISONOUS MATERIALS HAVE ENTERED UKRAINE'S WATER SUPPLIES. RADIOACTIVE PARTICLES RELEASED BY THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE HAVE BEEN SLOWLY MOVING THROUGH THE GROUND AND INTO GROUND WATER. UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS BELIEVE THE MATERIALS HAVE NOW ENTERED THE COUNTRY'S MAJOR RIVERS AND LAKES. VOICE TWO: THE ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL RE-OPENED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF NUCLEAR POWER. OPINION STUDIES SHOW THAT MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE NUCLEAR POWER WILL BE USED IN THE FUTURE. YET MANY BELIEVE IT IS NOT SAFE. AMERICA'S WORST NUCLEAR ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE AT THE THREE MILE ISLAND POWER CENTER IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. THAT ACCIDENT RELEASED SOME RADIATION. NO ONE WAS KILLED OR INJURED. ACCIDENTS ALSO HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT NUCLEAR POWER CENTERS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND IN JAPAN. VOICE ONE: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE THE FOUR-HUNDRED NUCLEAR POWER CENTERS IN THE WORLD TODAY. THEY BELIEVE USING THEM IS NOT WORTH THE RISK OF ANOTHER SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THEY SAY POWER FROM WIND, SUN, OR NATURAL GAS WOULD BE MUCH SAFER. LAST WEEK, UKRAINE'S ENVIRONMENT MINISTER SAID ONE OF THE TWO REACTORS STILL OPERATING AT CHERNOBYL WILL BE CLOSED THIS YEAR. UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT, LEONID KUCHMA, HAS PROMISED THAT CHERNOBYL WILL BE CLOSED COMPLETELY BY THE YEAR TWO-THOUSAND. VOICE TWO: CLOSING THE POWER CENTER IS NOT AN EASY TASK. NUCLEAR POWER IS STILL THE LEAST COSTLY METHOD OF PRODUCING LARGE AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY. UKRAINE NEEDS THE POWER PRODUCED AT CHERNOBYL. SIMILAR POWER CENTERS PRODUCE ELECTRICITY IN RUSSIA AND OTHER FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS. WITHOUT THESE NUCLEAR POWER CENTERS, MANY INDUSTRIES WOULD STOP. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WOULD HAVE NO ELECTRIC POWER. VOICE ONE: NUCLEAR POWER EXPERTS SAY NUCLEAR POWER IS SAFE. THEY ALSO SAY IT IS LESS COSTLY THAN WATER OR SOLAR POWER. AND THEY SAY IT PRODUCES LESS POLLUTION THAN BURNING COAL. FINDING A SAFE, LOW-COST WAY TO PRODUCE ENERGY CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR CONCERN IN COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. EXPERTS SAY THE DEBATE WILL CONTINUE FOR MANY YEARS. AND THE EXPERIENCE OF CHERNOBYL WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF THAT DEBATE. (THEME) VOICE TWO: TODAY'S SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WAS WRITTEN BY OLIVER CHANLER. IT WAS PRODUCED BY __________. THIS IS ____________. VOICE ONE: AND THIS IS _________. JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK AT THIS TIME FOR MORE NEWS ABOUT SCIENCE, IN SPECIAL ENGLISH, ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA. (THEME) 29-Apr-96 12:26 PM EDT (1626 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .