Brussels, 03/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament called on the EU to carry out new analysis on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and to provide aid to the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to tackle the social and health consequences of the nuclear disaster, in a resolution on "the problem of nuclear safety fifteen years after the Chernobyl accident", adopted on Thursday during the plenary session in Brussels.
The Parliament welcomes the closure of the Chernobyl power station, but noted that there "remains much to be done in the framework of the project managed by the EBRD to guarantee the safety of the damaged unit". It requires that measurements of radioactivity be carried out on a permanent basis to be able to scientifically assess to effects of radiation on the soil, air, flora and fauna.
He welcomes the fact that the WHO has disassociated itself from the International Energy Agency (IEA) by organising, in June, its own conference on the health aspects of Chernobyl. The MEPs rejected amendments from the Green group, which clearly cast doubt over the official figures of the IEA and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), which is based, according to the Greens on partial and selective elements of proof. On the other hand, the MEPs call on the Commission to carry out an epidemiological study based on important new elements of scientific proof casting doubt over certain aspects of the risk model linked to radiation. It also invites the IEA and the UNSCEAR, as well as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and Euratom to "review the risk model".