UCC Marks Anniversary of Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster

Ottawa – On April 26, 2012, the World commemorated the 26th anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster, which drastically transformed the lives of thousands of people in Ukraine and Belarus. Even today, Ukraine continues to cope with the long-term health, economic and environmental consequences of this preventable disaster. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) asks that all Canadians take the time to commemorate those affected by this tragedy.

“As Ukrainian Canadians, we pray for those [who] suffered and continue to suffer the aftermath of this disaster, and others like it that have devastated parts of our world,” stated UCC National President Paul Grod. “Let us come together and commemorate the 26th anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster in our communities, and let us not forget this event that changed Ukraine and the World.”

On April 26, 1986, Chornobyl, Ukraine, was the site of the World’s worst nuclear accident. The World was kept ignorant of the accident by the Soviet authorities. However, as a result of the release of substantial amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere, it was not long before other countries became aware of the disaster and the utter failure of the Soviet authorities to ensure the safety of those living closest to the nuclear station power plant.

For instance, the town of Pripyat, just two kilometres from the Chornobyl plant, was only evacuated 36 hours after the accident, and the evacuation of other nearby villages took several more days. Meanwhile in Kyiv, only five days after the accident, hundreds of citizens participated in the outdoor May Day Parade, unknowingly exposing themselves to dangerous radioactive fall-out contamination as a result from the nuclear reactor meltdown and subsequent explosion.