MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to him, nuclear safety is primarily the responsibility of individual states. "But accidents can transcend borders, so effective international cooperation on nuclear safety is vital," Amano underscored.
"The key lesson from both Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi for everyone involved in nuclear power – plant operators, governments and regulators – is that safety can never be taken for granted. Complacency must be avoided at all costs," Amano said in a statement.
The Chernobyl power plant was destroyed in a meltdown on April 26, 1986. An area of over 80,000 square miles was contaminated by the radioactive fallout in the then Ukrainian Soviet Republic, as well as in Belarus, Russia and the Baltic region. Russia's Bryansk Region bore the heaviest toll, with some 7,500 square miles contaminated.
