Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich appealed to the world community Tuesday for funds to help deal with the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which he said had left “a deep wound†in his country. Skip related content
Opening an international conference on Chernobyl against the backdrop of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, he said 740 million euros (649 million pounds) were needed from donors to build a new more reliable shell over the reactor which exploded in 1986, spewing radiation across Europe.
“The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant caused Ukraine a deep wound which it will have to cope with for many years,†he said.
“Neither Ukraine nor the world community has the right to turn back from seeking answers to the questions which Chernobyl has presented us with.â€
Leaders from the Group of Eight industrial powers and the European Union spearheaded pledges of extra cash at the conference which marked 25 years since the world’s worst nuclear accident.
A European-backed venture foresees construction of a new shell over the No. 4 reactor, which blew up in April 1986, to contain radioactivity leaking through a makeshift shelter from hundreds of tonnes of radioactive material inside.
As delegates to the conference began pledging cash, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the Commission would allocate 110 million euros.
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development said it would put up 120 million euros and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said his country would provide 47 million euros.
Interfax news agency, quoting diplomatic sources, said the total from G8 members was likely to be around 332 million euros.
A European Commission official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier that total pledges were likely to fall short of what Ukraine sought.
“If we get more than 500 million euros we will regard it as a success,†the official said, adding that there was a question mark over the contribution from Japan, normally one of the main donors on Chernobyl.
“They are now looking to see how much money there is to solve their own problems,†the official said.
Two hours before Yanukovich opened the event in central Kiev, nine women staged a bare-breasted demonstration in front of the conference hall, accusing his administration of undemocratic practices.
The women, of the Femen protest movement, held up placards and chanted slogans like “Political Chernobyl†and “Yanukovich is worse than radiation.†They were arrested.
WEEK OF COMMEMORATIONS
Tuesday’s “donors’ conference†launches a week of commemorations in Ukraine marking the Soviet-era explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant, located on Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus.
A prevailing southeast wind carried a cloud of radioactivity over Belarus and Russia and on into parts of northern Europe.
Chernobyl has remained the benchmark for nuclear accidents and the conference has been brought into sharper focus by the Fukushima crisis in Japan following an earthquake and tsunami.
On April 12 Japan raised the severity rating at its Fukushima plant to seven â€" the same level as that of Chernobyl.
The official immediate death toll from Chernobyl was 31, but many more died of radiation-related sicknesses such as cancer.
The total death toll and long-term health effects remain a subject of intense debate.
Yanukovich said on Tuesday: “As a consequence of the accident, million of people suffered, thousands of them died.â€
Prypyat, the town closest to the site, is now an eerie ghost town at the centre of a largely uninhabited exclusion zone with a radius of 30 km (19 miles).
A makeshift shelter or ‘sarcophagus’ erected over the damaged reactor within eight months of the accident has developed cracks and holes, and is no longer considered reliable.
The new containment projects foresee construction of a convex structure more than 100 metres high that will slide into place over the damaged reactor, sealing it at least until the end of the century.
During that time, work can be undertaken to dismantle the present shelter and move radioactive material to a safer place.
World leaders attending the conference include French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, whose country is current chairman of the G8, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Some leaders may visit the Chernobyl site itself, about 110 km (70 miles) north of the capital.
(Edited by Richard Meares)
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