The Chernobyl Children's Project asked Irish people to observe one minute's silence at 11 a.m. today to mark the 15th anniversary to the date of the world's worst environmental disaster.
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Fifteen years after reactor Number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine exploded at 1.23 a.m., the United Nations has also appealed for health and development assistance for the victims of the disaster in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Speaking in UN headquarters in New York where the anniversary is being marked Executive Director of the Chernobyl Children's Project Ms Adi Roche said: "Chernobyl cannot be relegated to history. Problems associated with the disaster are only now beginning to manifest themselves. The potential for a more calamitous disaster is greater than ever.
Declaring the world should never forget Chernobyl, UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan said in a message: "Together we must extend a helping hand to our fellow human beings and show that we are not indifferent to their plight.
The appeal has been made annually for the past five years, with UN officials saying most monies are earmarked to help shut down the infamous power plant in the Ukraine and construct a confinement structure, called a sarcophagus, to contain the remains of the reactor core.
"While hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged to the construction of a new and safer sarcophagus, comparatively little has has been done by the international community to provide direct assistance to the population affected", said Mr Kenzo Oshima, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
Some five million people were exposed to radiation or otherwise affected when the fourth nuclear power reactor at Chernobyl burst into flames on April 16, 1986. The meltdown terrified Europe and corroded public confidence in nuclear power plants around the world.
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