On Tuesday, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, conferred decorations of The Verkhovna Rada to the liquidators of consequences of disaster at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant currently employed in the Parliament´s Secretariat, and to the People´s Deputies participants of these events.
Addressing the grand assembly, V.Lytvyn declared, "Today we express our gratitude to the people, who sacrificed their life and health to stop the global disaster and protect the world." "Like every person in Ukraine, I convey my sincere gratitude to you," he stated.
However, the Head of the Parliament admitted, "No words of gratitude can reflect the heroism demonstrated by the leaders and participants of the liquidation." He stated that every attendant of the ceremony could speak about those events from their personal experience.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine informed that the Parliament´s Secretariat employed 51 liquidators of consequences of disaster in Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
V.Lytvyn believes that the nuclear meltdown in Japan foregrounded the subject of Chornobyl. "EUR 550 million has been collected at the donor conference in Ukraine to finish construction of a reliable protective envelope and finalize other recovery projects," he informed. V.Lytvyn expects a new protective envelope to be constructed by the year 2015.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed that primary task is not merely to remove the nuclear power plant from operation, but also to preserve unique traditional culture of Polissia region.
"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall order the laws on Chornobyl and present a unified act to support implementation of the applicable laws," stressed V.Lytvyn.
Liquidators of consequences of disaster at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant currently employed in the Parliament´s Secretariat, and the People´s Deputies participants of these events were conferred decorations of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. People´s Deputy Ivan Pliushch who headed the executive committee of Kyiv Regional Council in the year 1986 was among the conferees.
I. Pliushch recollected the events, expressing his regret that the subject of Chornobyl had been freely discussed in Ukraine since 1990, while the Parliament listened to the report on the environmental consequences of the disaster only in December 2010. He believes that Ukraine sustained an impact of radiation, previously unknown to the scientists and industrialists.