On April 26, 2006, the world will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident in the Ukraine. Representatives from the U.S. and Eastern and Western Europe met in early October 2005 to plan an international conference in Kiev next year and to coordinate global events. The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility was one of five U.S. participants to this planning workshop. The events in France, Germany, Sweden, UK, and Eastern Europe will be coordinated to make sure the world's greatest and most costly industrial accident is never forgotten. Actions, marches, film festivals, photo exhibits and forums are being planned in advance of the April commemoration.

It is important to place a 19 square mile "exclusion zone" in perspective. A similar zone would encompass San Clemente, Oceanside, San Juan Capistrano, Vista and other communities in Southern California. On the Central Coast San Luis Obispo, Los Osos, Morro Bay, Avila and Pismo Beach would be among the cities that would become "ghost towns" in perpetuity. While such an accident is virtually impossible at Western nuclear facilities, the radioactive isotopes that have wiped out villages and towns in the Ukraine and Belarus are present at all nuclear facilities.

As events are formalized they will be posted on websites of all organizations participating in next years activities.

A Report Commissioned by UNDP and UNICEF with the support of UN-OCHA and WHO The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident: A Strategy for Recovery