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NUCLEAR POWER

Reader question: Did France really try to cover up the 1986 Chernobyl disaster?

On April 26, 1986, reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant - in Soviet-era Ukraine - exploded. A radioactive ‘cloud’ covered large parts of Europe, but did France really try to hide the danger from the population?

Reader question: Did France really try to cover up the 1986 Chernobyl disaster?
Archive image of the Chernobyl nuclear plant days after the explosion in reactor four (Photo by Vladimir Repik / AFP)

Question: When people in France are discussing the risks to nuclear safety because of the war in Ukraine, I keep hearing people say sarcastically ‘but of course radiation clouds stop at the French border’ – what are they talking about? I don’t get it?

The Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine was in the news in recent days, after invading Russian forces clashed with the country’s national guards protecting the decommissioned plant – which is still leaking radioactive material after the disaster 36 years ago.

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster triggered the release of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere – to date the world’s largest known release of radioactivity into the environment. What became known as a ‘radioactive cloud’ travelled west over Europe. It passed over Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

The French government of the time, headed by Jacques Chirac, was widely criticised for its handling of the crisis. While officials in Germany warned consumers not to eat fresh produce and distributed iodine pills, the government here took no special measures.

But the truth is, there was no need for France to take special measures, as Germany did. The government’s worst mistake was not to explain the situation fully to an understandably-worried population – an error it had made previously, and has made since.

An apparently apocryphal comment, attributed to the head of the Service central de protection contre les rayonnements ionisants at the time, that “The Chernobyl cloud has stopped at the French border,” has been frequently repeated and widely mocked as an example of the French attitude.

It also led to suggestions that France covered up the truth about the cloud and even concealed information about its effects.

In fact, most of France did escape relatively lightly: parts of the Vosges, the Jura, the Southern Alps and Corsica were the most affected as weather conditions at the time pushed the plume northwards.

In 2001, several hundred people, mainly in eastern France and Corsica, filed a lawsuit against the government after suffering thyroid issues, a classic symptom of radioactive contamination.

They claimed it was caused by the radiation from Chernobyl, and that the government had covered up the severity of the situation.

But, after a 10-year legal battle, a court dismissed the case and cleared nuclear scientist Pierre Pellerin – who was reported to have uttered that fateful ‘borders’ phrase – of charges that he covered up the true effects of the cloud.

And a 2000 report titled Birth of a myth: the Chernobyl fallout in France, by the International Nuclear Information System – part of the International Atomic Energy Agency – found that France’s official position at the time was accurate and proportional to the relatively low danger.

“In France the average dose due to the Chernobyl accident represented less than 10 percent of the yearly dose produced by natural radioactivity, so French authorities were right not to be alarmed,” an abstract of the report said. 

“In Germany the radioactive fallout was 10 times higher than in France and German authorities expected a far more intense contamination. As a consequence, health measures taken in Germany were nothing like those taken in France; that difference made journalists say that the radioactive contamination had stopped at the Franco-German border.”

As we can see from the fact that this line is still circulating, however, it did cause long-lasting damage to trust in the French authorities.

Last week saw reports of people buying iodine tablets in response to the worrying news from Ukraine, apparently unconvinced that the government would distribute these if it became necessary.

READ ALSO What to do in case of a nuclear alert in France

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TRAVEL NEWS

Your questions answered on the UK’s new £10 entry fee for European travellers

From next year, European travellers visiting the UK will be required to pay a £10 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in order to enter. The Local answers your questions on what that means for people living in the EU or EEA, including EU spouses and dual nationals.

Your questions answered on the UK's new £10 entry fee for European travellers

The UK has introduced an electronic travel authorisation scheme known as ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) for people paying short visits such as tourists of those visiting family members.

The ETA – which costs £10, lasts for two years and must be applied for online in advance of your trip – is already in place for citizens of some countries, but in the spring of 2025 it will be expanded to include EU and EEA citizens such as French, German or Swiss nationals.

You can find full details of the scheme and how it works here.

The UK government information is largely geared towards tourists, and readers of The Local had questions – especially on how the changes affect people with residency in an EU or EEA country, on the position for EU spouses of a UK national and the changes for dual nationals.

Does this affect Brits who are resident in an EU/EEA country?

This system all depends on the passport you are travelling on, not where you live or whether you have a residency permit for another country.

So in short if you are travelling on your UK passport, you will be treated like every other Brit and won’t need an ETA. If you are a dual national, it depends on the passport you are travelling on (more on that below).

However Brits who have an EU partner or spouse (who don’t have a British passport) should be aware that the changes will apply to their spouse.

Does this limit stays in the UK for EU citizens who are married to a Brit?

ETA, like the EU’s new EES biometric passport checks and ETIAS visa waiver, does not change any of the existing rules around immigration or long-stay visas.

At present, citizens of a number of countries – including all EU/EEA countries and a number of non-EU countries such as the USA and Canada – benefit from visa-free travel to the UK for short visits. Those people can stay in the UK for up to 180 days per year without needing a visa, although they cannot work in the UK.

This category would cover tourists and people making short visits to family. Anyone who wants to stay longer than 180 days in a year, or who wants to work in the UK, would need a visa or to apply for residency through other routes such as the EU Settled Status scheme. This includes EU nationals who have a British spouse.

What changes under ETA is that the people making short stays will no longer benefit from visa-free travel – instead they must apply online for the ETA visa before travel.

Those who wish to stay longer or to work in the UK must apply for the relevant visa or residency permit type, exactly as they do now.

What about Irish passport holders?

The exception to these rules is for people travelling on an Irish passport. Because of the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland, those travelling on an Irish passport will not be required to get an ETA, and in fact nothing changes for them.

The exemption only applies if you are using your Irish passport to travel – if you have an Irish passport but are using another non-UK passport to travel you will be treated according to the passport you present. 

Likewise, UK nationals are also exempt from the requirement – but only if they are using their UK passport to travel.

Do children need an ETA?

Yes, everyone entering the UK will need an ETA, including children and babies. The travel authorisation costs £10 for everyone – unlike the EU’s ETIAS, there is no cost exemption for over 70s or under 18s.

Do I need an ETA as an airline transit passenger? That seems mad if I’m only passing through the airport?

Yes, an ETA is required for everyone, even if you’re only passing through a UK airport as part of a connecting flight. This has sparked fury from the UK’s ‘hub’ airports such as Heathrow, where bosses say the change could cost them up to 4 million passengers a year.

The government says: “Requiring transit passengers to obtain an ETA stops people who may use connecting flights to avoid gaining permission to travel to the UK.”

What about dual nationals?

The key thing for dual nationals to remember is that your passports are not ‘linked’ – so the immigration official that you present your passport to has no way of knowing that you also have the passport of another country.

Dual nationals are therefore treated according to the passport they present. So let’s say you have a UK passport and an Italian one – if you travel to the UK on the UK passport, you will not need an ETA. However if you travel on the Italian passport you will need an ETA.

It is perfectly legal to use two passports while making a trip, so that you can enter the UK showing your UK passport and then on your return to Italy show the Italian passport – this allows you to avoid the formalities for foreigners in both countries. If you are doing this, you will just need to take care when supplying Advance Passenger Information (API) to your travel provider that you are supplying the right information for the passport that you will be using for each leg of the journey.

When does this start?

The ETA requirement is already in place for citizens of certain countries and then will continue the roll-out in two subsequent stages.

Citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates already need an ETA to enter the UK. From January 8th 2025 it will be extended to citizens of all non-EU/non-EEA countries and then from April 2nd it will be required for all EU/EEA citizens (with the exception of Ireland). Find the full list of countries here.

How do I get the ETA?

You apply and pay online before you travel – the UK government says that applications should be processed within three working days but that some could take longer. You cannot enter the UK until your application is processed.

Once issued, the ETA lasts for two years and allows multiple trips – although if your passport is renewed during that two-year period you will have to apply for a new ETA.

Find full details of how to apply here.

Why is the UK doing this?

It’s a security measure and is part of the UK’s plan to digitise its borders. The scheme is intended to reduce queues at the border, “helping to speed up legitimate journeys to the UK”, a government spokesman said.

It is very similar to the EU’s ETIAS visa waiver – due to come into effect in the spring of 2025 – and the US’s ESTA visa, which has been required for all visitors since 2009.

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