Turkey to discuss nuclear energy on anniversary of Chernobyl

“Instead of a denial, we are expecting an apology, free health screenings for everyone and independent scientific research on the issue. After all these years, if we are still not sure what is happing to us, it is just because of state’s attempts to cover up [the situation] from the very beginning,” Sibel Suiçmez, chairperson of the Trabzon Bar Association environment and health commission, told Sunday’s Zaman.

Suiçmez, who lost her sister to cancer, is the chairperson of the Trabzon Association of Solidarity with Cancer Patients and Their Relatives. She said the state has never disclosed the radioactivity levels recorded in the first days of the accident and has tried to mislead the public. “The accident was not a mistake of the state, but it acted like the accident was its mistake. It is hard to understand it,” she said.

The Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) prepared a report in 2005 and underlined that cancer cases have sharply increased in the Black Sea region, especially Hopa, in which 47.9 percent of deaths between 2001 and 2004 were due to cancer.

Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, Dr. Orhan Odabaşı, who was the secretary-general of the TTB at that time, said the Chernobyl accident has definitely harmed the public’s health.

“But the state at that time did not act responsibly. It should have established a scientific delegation to inform the public and take the necessary measures, but it preferred to act in a way so that nothing has happened.” But on several occasions, TAEK declared that the institution has taken regular measurements since 1986 and shared them with the public. TAEK also claims that Turkey was harmed by the Chernobyl accident as much as many European countries. According to the agency, there is not that much difference between the Black Sea region and other parts of Turkey in terms of cancer rates.

Another survey that dates back to 2006 was prepared by the Confederation of the Civil Society Organizations of the Black Sea Region (KASTOB) and finds that the radiation level in the Black Sea is not higher than any other part of Turkey. The chairman of KASTOB, Hasan Ekşi, told Sunday’s Zaman that the accident harmed the Black Sea region but to claim that cancer cases are increasing due to Chernobyl is not right. He added that people have misconceptions regarding the issue and are still hesitant to buy products from the Black Sea. “Twenty-four years have passed, and the scientific survey states that Black Sea agricultural products have not been affected by the nuclear disaster,” Ekşi said.

He recalled that people are hesitant to establish nuclear power plants due to the Chernobyl accident, but such hesitation is not reasonable if the necessary measures are taken. “There are 12 nuclear power plants near the Danube River; they are working with the waters of the Danube, which empties into the Black Sea. There are some plans to construct many hydroelectric power plants in the Black Sea region, but instead of making them, in my opinion it is better to construct one nuclear power plant. If we can use natural energy sources more efficiently, then we can stop using the nuclear power plant,” Ekşi said. Turkey wants to build two nuclear power plants, one in the Black Sea region in Sinop and another one in the Mediterranean region in Akkuyu. It aims to reduce its dependence on foreign energy imports and meet growing demand for electricity.

Turkey’s four previous attempts to build a nuclear plant have failed, beginning in the late 1960s, due to the high cost and environmental concerns. Ankara’s nuclear plans suffered a setback late last year when a Turkish court annulled a 2008 tender won by a Russian-Turkish consortium. Recently Turkey signed a cooperation agreement with South Korea for a planned nuclear power plant in Sinop.

At the signature ceremony in early March, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said, “By 2020, we hope to be able to cover 10 percent of Turkey’s total energy consumption by nuclear energy.”

He added that this would mean 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts being produced by the two nuclear power plants planned for Sinop and Akkuyu. But some civil society organizations are preparing to protest these planned nuclear power plants tomorrow, the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.