April, 22 2014, 03:47pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
28 Years After Chernobyl: 'Ecological Collapse'?
WASHINGTON
This Friday, April 26th, is the 28th anniversary of the nuclear reactor explosion at Chernobyl, Ukraine.
LINDA GUNTER, linda at beyondnuclear.org
Gunter is founder and international specialist of Beyond Nuclear. The organization recently released the piece, "Chernobyl No 'Eden' Say Beyond Nuclear Experts" which states, "A newly published study has uncovered alarming indications of biological loss and ecological collapse in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that exploded in Ukraine on April 26, 1986.
"Nuclear boosters have long claimed that the superficial appearance of teeming wildlife in the approximately 1,000 square mile Chernobyl exclusion zone indicates an Eden-like outcome. But the study observed a frightening halt to organic decay and the disappearance of important microbes that indicate the steady advance of a potential 'silent spring.'...
"'Highly Reduced Mass Loss Rates and Increased Litter Layer in Radioactively Contaminated Areas,' published in Oecologia, March 4, 2014, by Mousseau, Milinevsky, Kenney-Hunt and Moller, found that the natural cycle of decay of organic materials around Chernobyl is largely dependent on microbial communities which have been significantly reduced in these radioactively contaminated zones."
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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