20 April 2006: for immediate release
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament will mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster with a Parliamentary public meeting on Wednesday 26 April at 7 pm. The meeting, “Remember Chernobyl,” will remember the toxic legacy of the explosion and subsequent radioactive fallout that caused widespread contamination and disease throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe. It will also explore strategies to prevent the British government from building new nuclear power stations in the future.
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said, “The disaster 20 years ago at Chernobyl proves beyond doubt that nuclear power is not worth the risk. We may never know how many people died as a result, but the effects of Chernobyl are still quite clear even thousands of miles away in Britain. It is still not safe for humans to eat sheep from the parts of Wales most heavily hit by radioactive fallout. There continues to be a 30 kilometre exclusion zone around Chernobyl because of the deadly levels of radiation still present in the area closest to the plant.”
Ms Hudson continued, “Nuclear power is inherently dangerous and we must halt any plans for new nuclear power stations in the UK. We need a safe, genuinely sustainable, global and green solution to our energy needs. A combination of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures which are safe, effective and proven technologies are available now. The government must live up to its Kyoto agreements and invest in sustainable clean solutions to climate change.”
CND’s Parliamentary public meeting will take place on Wednesday 26 April at 7 pm in Committee Room 10 of the House of Commons. The meeting is supported by Chernobyl Children’s Project (UK) and Medact. Speakers at the meeting include: Michael Meacher MP; Norman Baker MP; Professor Inna Merculova, International Sakharov Environmental University, Minsk; Jenny Jones AM; Linda Walker, Chernobyl Children’s Project (UK) and Kate Hudson, Chair CND.
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Notes to Editor:
1. For further information and interviews please contact Rick Wayman, CND’s Press & Communications Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
2. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 32,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere.