1988
Norway increased the limit for caesium in reindeer meat for consumption
to 6000 Bq/kg. This is extremely high. Sweden also increased their limit
to 1500Bq/kg from 300Bq/kg in May 1987. Most countries have a limit of
600 Bq/kg. And even this figure is heavily criticised. But due to this
limit much of the reindeer meat can be sold in Scandinavian countries
5 January: Block 3 (which shared a turbine-hall with Block
4) is restarted.
February: In the period May-August 1986, between 20,000-40,000
more Americans than usual died. Statistics can’t prove whether or not it
was caused by Chernobyl, but “you can’t escape the fact that something
happened in the summer of 1986”
27 April: Two years after the accident Valery Legasov
commits suicide. He was the director of the Kurchatov Institute for Nuclear
Energy, where the RBMK reactors were designed. He was also chairman of
the scientific team sent to Chernobyl immediately after the accident on
26 April 1986 He left behind his memoirs in which he expresses his
anger and despair about the safety of nuclear energy in the Soviet Union.
He wrote that he wanted to study the safety problems of the RBMK reactors,
and for this reason was opposed by people who said there were no problems.
Legasov also wrote that there was a certain inevitability in working towards
the accident at Chernobyl. Valery Legasov was the head of the Soviet delegation
presenting the research report to the congress in Vienna..
August: Sweden: With the opening of the deer hunting season
came alarming news. The Samen in northern Scandinavia are hard hit by the
fall-out as there culture and livelihood depends on reindeer. The majority
of animals killed contained more than the consumption limit of 1500 Bq/kg
caesium-137. The level of caesium in lake fish has also increased over
last year.
September: Soviet authorities decided to turn the 30 km
zone into a national park. All human activity, including farming is banned
there.
22 December: Soviet scientists announce that the sarcophagus
now enclosing the reactor was designed for a lifetime of only 20 to 30
years.