Hale Oguz blames the cancer deaths of six relatives on the Chernobyl disaster across the Black Sea more than 20 years ago. Now she's fighting plans for a nuclear plant near her home in Sinop on Turkey's northern coast.
``Chernobyl isn't history for us; it's very fresh,'' said Oguz, 54, as she walked her two dogs on a ridge overlooking the forested peninsula where the government plans a reactor. ``We are about to turn this paradise into a hell.''
The power station near Sinop, a fishing town in one of Turkey's poorest provinces, is part of the state's effort to cut reliance on fuel imports. Turkey plans to build three nuclear power plants in the next five years at a cost of at least $8 billion to meet demand for electricity that is rising faster than anywhere else in the world except China.
Opponents say the plants will exacerbate what they believe is a cancer epidemic caused by the meltdown at Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident. They also cite risks from earthquakes -- most of Turkey straddles geological fault lines -- and terrorism in a nation that has been targeted by Islamist and Kurdish militants.
Nuclear energy is experiencing a worldwide revival with estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing global demand for electricity will almost double by 2025. Surging costs for oil, gas and coal and concern about global warming are also renewing interest in the fuel.
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