Analysis: Chernobyl Revisited
Council on Foreign Relations
April 25, 2006
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner
Chernobyl is associated in most minds with the devastating health effects caused by nuclear fallout. Experts may disagree over casualties—estimates of how many will die from radiation-related cancers range from 4,000 to more than 90,000—but few deny the Chernobyl accident irreparably damaged many lives in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, as this multimedia report by MediaStorm demonstrates.
Yet twenty years after the Chernobyl meltdown, nuclear power is enjoying somewhat of a rebirth in popularity, particularly in Europe and Asia, as this CFR Background Q&A explains. Experts, including Patrick Moore of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd, say nuclear technology has become more advanced and thus safer than it was in 1986 (WashPost). Oil and gas prices are reaching historical highs, creating demands to find alternative—and cheaper—sources of energy. And a strange alliance of sorts has emerged between some powerful members of the green and nuclear advocacy groups. Some environmentalists say nuclear power, which does not give off carbon emissions, is a welcome alternative to coal-fired plants, and less damaging to the earth's atmosphere (CommonsBlog). Sixty new nuclear plants are scheduled to go online by 2020, a significant number of which are in Asia, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Plans to phase out a number of plants across Europe are also being rethought (CSMonitor).
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Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.
