Understorey: Life Under Chernobyl
Thirty five years ago the world’s worst nuclear disaster contaminated large parts of Europe, and single-handedly rendered uninhabitable a large area intersecting Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Understorey speaks to a Russian scientist who lives and works a few hundred kilometres from the Chernobyl exclusion zone, about her experiences in 1986, and the impact of the explosion of the nuclear power plant on her community, right up to the present day, with ongoing concerns for the health of local children, families, and noting unusual impacts on the natural environment. With Europe planning a megaproject E40 Waterway, connecting trade between the Baltic to the Black Sea, right through Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, there is the risk that radioisotopes stirred up from silt by dredging and shipping could irradiate more than 2000 km of rivers in Eastern Europe. The legacy of Chernobyl is no cause for optimism, and yet citizen scientists continue to work to improve understanding and a degree of protection for the children and adults, while encouraging us to find safer alternatives to meet our energy needs.
Montage: A Glamorgan; featuring WA People for Nuclear Disarmament Banner by Judy Blyth
