"UN Chief Charts Five-Step Path to Global Nuclear Safety"

"KIEV, Ukraine -- As he prepared to visit Chernobyl 25 years after the world's worst nuclear disaster, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon outlined a five-step plan to strengthen global nuclear safety. In view of the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan, Ban's plan emphasizes 'the new nexus between natural disasters and nuclear safety,' and 'requires the active cooperation of the nuclear industry.'

The ongoing nuclear power plant crisis in Japan, like the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago in Ukraine, calls for 'deep reflection' on the future of nuclear energy, Ban said today.

'As we are painfully learning once again, nuclear accidents respect no borders,' Ban told the Summit on the Safe and Innovative Use of Nuclear Energy, held in Kiev. "

Environmental Health News had the story April 19, 2011.