The battle of Chernobyl

Hi everybody!

Since the Ukraine is marking the 30^th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster I want to write an article about a video that we watched in our last English lesson. The video is called “The battle of Chernobyl”.

Basically the video says that on 26^th April 1986 the most serious nuclear accident ever in history has taken place.

An explosion and fire occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant which is located only three kilometres away from the city Pripyat. The explosion released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere which spread all over the USSR and Europe. The radioactive fallout was 100 times greater than the combined power of the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It is also said that two men died in this night and 28 in the following months. This were the first victims of Chernobyl.

The first day the inhabitants only were told that they should close the windows and stay inside. The children got iodine tablets at school.

After 30 hours over 1000 buses came to Pripyat to evacuate all the persons concerned. The 43000 inhabitants only had two hours to get all their belongings.

They were told that they will come back home in some days but in reality they could never go home again.

After some days the responsible still didn’t say a word. At the 28^th April radioactive dust of Chernobyl rained down on Stockholm. That’s how the other countries experienced what has happened.

But the fire still burned. So a lot of helicopter flew to the Nuclear Power Plant to extinguish the flames. They threw tons of sandbags to stop the fire and neutralise radiation.

The radiation victims were sent to Moscow. The initial symptoms of radiation sickness are vomiting, and nausea.

It is unbelievable what has happened on the 26th April in Ukraine. We still see the consequences today. Numerous persons fall ill and die.

What shocked me most was that nothing has happened more than 30 hours. The inhabitants of the obvious cities, especially the inhabitants of Pripyat, neither were warned nor evacuated from the city.

Regards,

Julian

Public health care

Hi everybody!

Since there has been a permanent debate on Austrian health care, I want to write an article on three different health care services.

The first service is the removal of a tattoo which causes mental distress according to the patient.

I am definitely against this service. In this case it would be a disaster if the Austrian government would have to pay for it. Such a step must be considered well. Everyone who gets inked must be aware of tattoos’ risks and consequences for health. Otherwise the government will, one day, have no more money for relevant services.

The second service is a cosmetic surgery on an actor’s large nose which she claims has a negative impact on her career.

In this case it concerns a cosmetic operation. This is the reason why I am against the government’s support. The problem is if government's support this, everyone could come and say “I want a cosmetic operation because I am not satisfied with my appearance.” The government would then have to pay for those operations.

If a big nose compromised one’s health, I would be for a governmental support.

The third service is a breast reduction on a 13-year old who is being teased at school because of her breast size. She is also overweight

In this case it’s very difficult. I am not absolutely sure but I rather think that the government should support her. It is very sad if she is teased in school. That’s why I am in favour of governmental support.

What do you think about it?

Regards, 

Julian

Business week

Hi everybody!

From Monday 4th April to Friday 8th April I worked at PETSCHL Transporte GmbH & Co KG.

PETSCHL Transporte is a freight forwarding company with the main office in Weinzierl, a small village in Perg.

I have already worked for the company in summer for four weeks, so I have already known the chief executive and the employees. But I didn’t know the new head office. Every department is furnished nicely and very modern.

My contact person for this week was Mrs. Sabine Forsthuber-Döberl. She is a member of the Human Resources Department.

I started work at half past eight until twelve o’clock. Then I had break until one o’clock. Since it just took me 5 minutes to get home, I decided to spend my break at home. I worked until half past five, every day.

I did a lot of interesting things.

I changed within the accounting department, the purchasing department, the secretary's office, the information technology department and the receiving. 

Some of my tasks:

• enterring incoming invoices
• assistance and design of the new homepage
• input tax refund
• evaluation of tyre consumption

What interested me most was the insight in the new petrol station.

I really liked my practical training at Petschl Transporte and I would be glad if I might work there in the near future.

Regards, 

Julian