Peace group mark anniversary of nuclear disaster at Chernobyl

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Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group highlighted the dangers of nuclear power on Saturday morning (24 April 2010). They were marking the 24th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and urged Rochdale's shoppers to oppose the government's plans to build more nuclear power stations in Britain.

With a mock barrel of nuclear waste and dressed in white suits and hard hats, Peace Group members reminded passers-by that the Chernobyl disaster had required the immediate evacuation of more than 100,000 people and, ultimately the relocation of 220,000 people. Their leaflets highlighted the view that nuclear power is not the answer to climate change and that it threatens both the environment and all people's health. They emphasised that no safe solution has yet been devised to store the carcinogenic radioactive waste produced by nuclear power stations. They estimate that plans to build new nuclear power stations will increase the most high level toxic waste five-fold.

Philip Gilligan said: "The government plans to build more nuclear power stations, when the existing ones are already polluting our planet and deforming our children. It suits those who will profit from this madness to promote myths about it. They don't want us to know the dangerous truth. They tell us that nuclear power is 'safe', but the truth is that nuclear power is very dangerous.

"In 2006, New Scientist reported that the cloud of radiation spewed out during the disaster at Chernobyl on 26 April 1986 could end-up killing 60,000 people.

"Windscale, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are not the only nuclear accidents whose aftermath threatens our futures; nor are they the last.

"Meanwhile, German government scientists have discovered that leukaemia rates in children increase according to how near their homes are to nuclear facilities.

"Promoters of nuclear power tell us that is 'clean', but the nuclear industry produces dirty radioactive waste that remains dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

"Sellafield spews-out radioactive effluents into the Irish Sea, which make it the most radioactive sea in the world.

"They tell us that nuclear power is 'the answer to global warming', but, when all its processes (uranium mining, plant building, generation, decommissioning and dealing with nuclear waste) are considered, nuclear power, in fact, produces four times as much CO2 as wind-power per kilowatt generated.

"We need to remember the lessons of the Chernobyl disaster and to halt these plans.

"More nuclear power stations will expose us to even more risks."