‘Chernobyl clean-up heroes feel dishonoured’ says Adi Roche
In an emotional address to a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York convened yesterday to mark the Chernobyl disaster 30th anniversary, Ms Roche said the estimated 700,000 surviving liquidators — ordered to fight the power plant’s radioactive fire, contain the leaking radiation, and undertake the subsequent clean-up — deserve financial help as they suffer ongoing health issues.
Wearing a medal awarded to former Soviet officer and Chernobyl liquidator Valeriy Zaytsyev, Ms Roche told the UN that while many liquidators died, others have liveed with radiation-induced lifelong illnesses and almost all struggle with medical, psychological, and financial difficulties.
