Chernobyl tenth anniversary: strategy for response, organisation, examples and results

Each anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in April 1986, is accompanied by considerable activity on the part of the press and the anti-nuclear industry. In the course of such activity, many distortions of the true situation in the area are promulgated. It was clear to the nuclear industry that the tenth anniversary would be especially difficult. Hence the international nuclear community, under the leadership of the British Nuclear Industry Forum, constituted a Task Force to consider responses to the anniversary. This paper describes the essential steps in setting up the Task Force; discusses the main elements of the strategy which emerged, including the Chernobyl Fact Sheets, the identification of credible third parties who could explain key issues with the media, and the secondment of a British press officer to the plant to coordinate international visits; and evaluate press response to the anniversary in comparison with previous anniversaries. (author)