Word: chernobyl
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Dates: during 1986-1986
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...Chernobyl. In little more than a month, the name of a once obscure Soviet plant has become a global household word, a new entry on the list of late-20th century technological disasters and a rallying cry for all those who fear and oppose nuclear power. The April 26 explosion and fire that destroyed reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl plant in the Ukraine spread radioactive fallout around much of the world. Now the accident is transforming the East-West political climate and perhaps altering diplomatic relations between the U.S. and its European allies...
...nuclear questions played a key role in the most widely watched Dutch election in years. During the campaign, Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers eased his stance on atomic power. Despite a strong commitment to expanding his country's nuclear capacity, Lubbers shrewdly delayed construction of two new plants following the Chernobyl calamity. That relieved Dutch anxieties aroused by the Soviet tragedy, and helped Lubbers' Christian Democrat party to score big gains...
...presidential campaign winds to an end, even the furor over Conservative Candidate Kurt Waldheim's wartime Nazi links has been overshadowed by the question of atomic power. Socialist Kurt Streyer, who faces Waldheim in a runoff June 8, stresses his commitment in new posters that proclaim, NO SECOND CHERNOBYL. Waldheim, the former United Nations Secretary-General, says he will use his diplomatic experience to get an international agreement on early and complete warning in case of atomic power accidents...
Other nations continued to seek protection from possible nuclear fallout. After arduous debate, the twelve member nations of the European Community agreed to ban all meat and farm products from East European countries affected by the fallout from Chernobyl. The boycott will remain in effect at least through May. The move infuriated exporters such as Yugoslavia and Poland, which rely on hard currency raised from agricultural sales to pay off foreign debts. Officials in Warsaw were especially angered by a U.S. plan to ship powdered milk for distribution in Poland through nongovernment agencies. Their bitter retort: an offer to send...
Elsewhere, West German militants smashed windows and hurled rocks at police last week as 10,000 antinuclear demonstrators marched in Hamburg. But perhaps the most stunning response to the Chernobyl accident came from France, which relies on the atom for 65% of its electric power. After first assuring its citizens that the nuclear cloud had passed them by, the French government admitted last week that radiation readings in some regions had been 400 times as high as normal. While that was alarming enough, red-faced French officials compounded the problem by insisting that their failure to notify the public...