CHERNOBYL April 26, 1986

What is Chernobyl? Site of the worst nuclear reactor disaster in history. The station consisted of four reactors that together produced about 10% of Ukraine's electricity at the time of the accident.

When and Where did this take place? April 26, 1986 In north central Ukraine near the city of Pripyat.

What happened What happened there? What happened On Saturday April 26, 1986 at 1:23 a.m. reactor 4 suffered a catastrophic steam explosion resulting in a nuclear meltdown, a series of additional explosions and a fire. The radiation was not contained and radioactive particles were carried by wind across international borders. Radiation - Heat energy that travels through the air.

What is a nuclear meltdown? A nuclear meltdown occurs when the core of a nuclear reactor stops being properly controlled and cooled. This is caused by a failure of control or safety systems, and fuel assemblies inside the reactor begin to overheat and melt.

How does Chernobyl’s effect measure up to the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The accident at Chernobyl was approximately 400 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

What countries were affected by this disaster? Ukraine Belarus Poland Sweden Southwest Russia The plume also drifted over parts of Western Europe and eastern North America. Large areas in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus.

How did this affect people? 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness "tasting like metal“ sensation similar to that of pins and needles all over the face 31 died within the first three months Most were fire and rescue workers trying to bring the accident under control – they didn’t know how dangerous the radiation exposure was. 135,000 people were evacuated from the area 50,000 were from Pripyat Left their belongings behind because they were told they’d be gone a few days.

What are the environmental consequences? The lighter parts of the fallout and radiation were carried into the atmosphere. Fallout is radioactive “dust” that falls from the sky Spread into and polluted groundwater and surface water. Environmental impact will be long term and impact many things.

How did this affect plants and animals? Mutations did occur in plants and animals after the plant explosion. After the disaster, 2.5 square miles of pine forest close to the reactor turned ginger brown and died, earning the name of the “Red Forest”. Some animals in the worst-hit areas also died or stopped reproducing. Animals were also born with physical deformities. Despite the increased radiation levels, rare species are now returning in large numbers to the area.

How was this area cleaned up after the accident? cleaned upcleaned up Emergency workers (liquidators) were drafted into the area and helped to clean up the plant premises and the surrounding area. These workers were mostly plant employees, fire-fighters, soldiers and miners from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and other parts of the former Soviet Union. The exact number of liquidators is unknown because there are no completely accurate records of the people involved in the clean-up.

The duties of the liquidators varied. Decontamination Establishment of settlements and towns for plant workers and evacuees Built waste repositories, dams and water filtration systems The “sarcophagus”, which entombs the entire fourth reactor to contain the remaining radioactive material.

The Ukrainian government continued to let the three remaining reactors operate because of an energy shortage in the country. Power plant was completely shut down in 2000.

Future Repairs... The sarcophagus is not an effective permanent enclosure for the destroyed reactor. If it collapses another cloud of radioactive dust could be released. The sarcophagus is in such poor condition that a small earthquake or severe wind could cause the roof to collapse. Water continues to leak into the shelter, spreading radioactive materials throughout the wrecked reactor building and potentially into the surrounding groundwater. In September 2007, Ukraine approved the building of a steel casing over the reactor. The casing will cost $1.4 billion.

Can you visit there today? The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (20 miles surrounding the site) and certain limited areas will remain off limits. The majority of affected areas are now considered safe for settlement and economic activity.

After the explosion at Reactor 4, the people of Pripyat flocked on the railway bridge just outside the city to get a good view of the reactor and see what had happened. Initially, everyone was told that radiation level was minimal and that they were safe. Little did they know that much of the radiation had been blown onto this bridge in a huge spike. They saw a beautiful rainbow colored flames of the burning graphite nuclear core, whose flames were higher than the smoke stack itself. All of them are dead now – they were exposed to levels of over 500 roentgens, which is a fatal dose.

The Pripyat funfair was due to be opened on May 1st. The ferris wheel remains one of the most irradiated parts of Pripyat since the disaster, making it still dangerous today.

Schools 5 schools in Pripyat, each about 1,000 students. Didn’t sustain much looting during the early 90’s.

Kindergarten Classroom

Hospital This hospital received many of Reactor 4′s first victims for treatment immediately after the explosion. The hospital itself however was already exposed to huge amounts of radiation. Every rescue worker who attended the initial explosion was killed by radiation poisoning.

400m away from the reactor: 0.623rt/m2 average radiation level of a non contaminated area: rt/m2

Children walk through a display in the Ukrainian capital's Chernobyl museum. Hanging from the walls are signs of villages that no longer exist, all the residents were evacuated.