39 years after Chernobyl: Protests against nuclear power and nuclear waste!

39 years after Chernobyl: Protests against nuclear power and nuclear waste!

At the weekend, numerous memorial events and protest actions took place in Germany on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which originated on April 26, 1986. The permanent consequences of these tragic events were reminded of various places, especially in front of nuclear facilities. According to Oekonews called for Citizens' Initiative Environmental Protection (BBU) incomplete nuclear phase -out in Germany.

The BBU appeals to the federal government as well as the state governments to close the uranium factories in Gronau (NRW) and Lingen (Lower Saxony) and to end nuclear research for new reactors. The association particularly emphasizes the need not to forget the global effects of the Chernobyl disaster and to work for a future based on renewable energies.

protests against nuclear waste transport

As part of the memorial events, symbolic blockages occurred. In Ahaus, activists demonstrated in front of the nuclear waste warehouse against the impending storage of further Castor atom waste containers. There was also a protest in Jülich against the planned removal of nuclear waste to Ahaus. BBU board member Udo Buchholz took part in these actions and called for a quick rethink in nuclear policy.

An Easter march for the uranium enrichment system in Gronau also took place, in which the participants reminded of the events of Chernobyl. Further actions are planned, including a Sunday walk on the uranium enrichment system on May 4th and a decentralized day of action on May 17th in the Netherlands, in which the BBU will show solidarity.

memory of Chernobyl

The Chernobyl's reactor disaster is considered the biggest accident in a nuclear situation. On April 26, 1986, a technical error in a block 4 switched off led to a catastrophic explosion during a planned test, which released large amounts of radioactive material. The Swedish measurement stations registered the following the following morning, radioactive precipitation, while the Moscow government imposed an information lock, and the population was initially not informed about the dangers, such as BPB explained.

The evacuation of the 30-kilometer zone around the power plant only started a week after the accident. A total of up to 350,000 people had to leave the region. The long -term health consequences of the disaster are still controversial. While official reports from the International Agency for Cancer Research indicate that many cancers could be due to radiation in the following decades, environmental protection organizations see the numbers as a trivialization.