Interviews - BBC Radio 4 - Robin Day and Paul Gray; BBC Radio 4 - Gordon Clough and Paul Gray (to play or download the mp3 version of the interview please navigate to the bottom of this page)

Letter from Lord Cockfield to Paul Gray thanking for his rapid action and expertise following the disaster at Chernobyl in April 1986

CHERNOBYL - A Short History

-    26 April 1986 at 01:23:06 the Chernobyl reactor becomes supercritical and explodes expelling 1/3 of its core and discharging fission products into the troposphere over the next 9 days.  

-    28-29 April fall-out occurs in Scandinavia The EU is informed by Denmark through the food rapid alert system.

-    30 April EU Commission food alert controller (P.S.Gray) identifies the fall-out as coming from a nuclear reactor that from the previous 48 hour air flows must be east of the Iron Curtain. He initiates an alert and calls Member States experts in food, trade and nuclear contamination to Brussels. Many ministries are shut down for 2 days public holiday and the meeting can only be held on 5 May.

-    2-3 May fall-out occurs in UK and Ireland.

-    5 May meeting many national experts still do not have fall-out data. The Commission food alert team drafts a proposal for a ban on imports from E Europe and USSR which is approved by the Commission on 6 May at 11:00 and is sent immediately to the Council of Ministers.

-    In the interim international trade is managed through the food alert team on the basis of gentleman’s agreements.

-    12 May a temporary ban is adopted by the Council of Ministers after intense technical and diplomatic negotiations in the Council.

-    15 May The Commission proposes GATT erga-omnes levels to restore international trade in foods.  The EU Treaty is used as legal basis therefore unanimity is required.

-    30 May Council adopts measures (ECC/1707/86) due to expire on 30 September 1986.  They are renewed twice (30/9/86 and 27/2/87) and expire on 31/10/87.

-    EU levels are adopted by more than 90 non-EU countries