Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident

April 1986

https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/chernobyl.jpg

By the time the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, they had 17 nuclear power plants, with more being built. These plants

provided 12.7% of all the electricity used in the Soviet Union.

Why did they build so many? And why did they build most of them close to large populations?

Map source: http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/files/display/390/fullsize Power plant sites source: "Nuclear Power Plants." The Radiation Legacy of the Soviet Nuclear Complex: An Analytical Overview. Ed. Egorov Nikolaĭ. 1st ed. Routledge, 2000. 52-53.

The Soviets had lots of coal, but most was

east of the Ural

Mountains, far from

Adapted from a map at https://www.marxists.org/glossary/media/places/u/ussr/1982/coal-minerals.jpg

most workers AND far from most energy customers. Sending coal

back east was expensive. http://www.clker.com/cliparts/l/R/d/8/S/x/coal-md.png

The Soviets also had lots

of petroleum, and natural

gas. But most of that was also east of

the Urals. And

Adapted from a map at https://www.marxists.org/glossary/media/places/u/ussr/1982/coal-minerals.jpg

much of it was also very far north - in taiga and tundra – so oil/gas wells would be very

expensive to drill and to maintain there. http://www.fe.doe.gov/images/education/oilwell.gif

So here’s their problem: They have LOTS of energy resources, but getting to them

– and then sending them to the population centers – was HARD and

EXPENSIVE!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Chuo_Main_Line_Freight_Yatsugatake.jpghttp://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01857/tundra0_1857856b.jpg

In the 1950s, the Soviets began building nuclear power plants. They used graphite

cooling system instead of the water cooling system used in the the U.S. and other

countries. This was cheaper for the Soviets, but also less safe.

The day before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, plant operators were getting ready to shut down

reactor number 4. The plan was to do routine work on the reactor, then start it up again.

http://thevelvetrocket.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/chernobyl-before-the-disaster.jpg

Chernobyl NPP, before the accident

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--964lQ2TWXY/UIWxlXnN0XI/AAAAAAAAA4s/qKQDv9mVTLo/s400/Chernobyl.jpg

The senior operator was supposed to be on duty, but had left. Less experienced

workers were left in charge.

They broke safety

rules when they also

shut down the

automaticsafety

system -

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- the system that was

supposed to protect

everyone from a nuclear accident.

http://mrwgifs.com/spongebob-is-terrified-under-his-bed-covers/

At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, two explosions went off seconds apart in reactor number 4. This blew the roof

off the reactor building, sending burning material through the air and starting several fires.

Chernobyl NPP Reactor 4 explosion, computer generated imagehttp://i1.ytimg.com/vi/zLa84BN4REs/maxresdefault.jpg

The firefighters who arrived first had no idea the fire was from the reactor core.

They didn’t know their bodies were taking on high levels of radiation.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01371/monument_1371629i.jpg

Twenty-eight emergency workers died within a month of the explosion from severe

radiation poisoning.

http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/04/chernobyl-25-years-later-then-and-now/

Chernobyl NPP, three days after the accident

http://imgarcade.com/1/chernobyl-before-explosion/

The Soviet Union did not admit to the world what had happened.

Scientists in Sweden figured it out 2 days

later when Chernobyl’s radiation

set off alarms 620 miles away in a Swedish nuclear

power plant.

http://one-europe.info/user/files/Briefs/chernobyl_001.png

Today, about 1000 square miles around Chernobyl is mostly off-limits to people.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3ylb7WqRA0/Te8TSnDcxjI/AAAAAAAAHzg/OHo08FcEh4Y/s1600/chernobyl-exclusion-zone-map.jpg

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A few elderly people were allowed to return there. Scientists and government workers also go in to monitor and to do research.

http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2015/March/03-19-2015Ukraine_Aid.jpg

But for the most part, the zone is full ofhtt

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and overgrown streets.

abandoned houses, empty buildings,

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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/23/article-2177704-142ED1B1000005DC-533_964x628.jpg

Vehicles used in the cleanup were contaminated and left behind in the Exclusion Zone.

There are at least three “vehicle

graveyards” in the Exclusion Zone.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=7&with_photo_id=14282922&order=date_desc&user=944583

http://tylyenglish7.wikispaces.com/The+Chernobyl+disaster

abandoned control room of reactor #4

http://www.lovethesepics.com/2013/03/chernobyl-exclusion-zone-adrenaline-radiation-urbex-a-good-day-to-die-hard /

Because there is concern that the concrete cover on reactor #4 is leaking, a larger seal,

expected to last 100 years, is being built.

http://antinuclearinfo.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/diagram-chernobyl-sarcophag.gif

drawing of what it will look like when

finished

Since the danger from Chernobyl can affect many the world, many countries are helping pay

for and build it.

http://rt.com/files/news/chernobyl-new-safe-confinement-773/first-section-structure-exploded.jpg

When finished, it will be slid over reactor #4 on rails. Then it will be secured into position.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHdL_NyDlYcpjHh7RXpdv7JJ5mnRoKY5RADoidFLIaHkqwIkeOLQ

http://www.livescience.com/13858-chernobyl-nuclear-disaster-25-years.html

Chernobyl is a good example of how one country’s nuclear disaster can impact people in many countries.