To mark the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, this issue of the WISE News Communique gives special attention to the ongoing effects of the disaster. Although many in the West heaved a sigh of relief after the closure of the last operating reactor (no. 3) at Chernobyl on 15 December 2000, the 1986 disaster continues to have major consequences for the daily lives of the region's inhabitant