1. A Tale of Scorched Earth-: Chernobyl
By Collin Donaldson
Chemistry
Pd.3-4

2. Where Is Chernobyl?
The city of Chernobyl is located in the Ukraine, formerly of the soviet union.
The faculty is between the city and the town Pripyat.
Borders the Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

3. Background Information
Chernobyl/Chornobyl=Russian/Ukrainian.
Chorno=black Byllia = grass blades or stalks.
Pripyat is a small town on the outskirts of the Chernobyl faculty.
Chernobyl was annexed multiple times.

4. Chernobyl Nuclear Faculty
Purpose: to produce radioactive isotopes for energy, exports, and weapons.
Over 100 different types of radioactive isotopes.
Roughly 10% of world’s uranium supply.

5. Reactor

6. Flaws, Deficiencies, and Safety Concerns.
Flimsy protection dome.
Negative void coefficient- doesn’t absorb neutrons and split uranium well enough.
Control rods were too short and made of graphite and boron carbide.
Automatic safety systems were disengaged during testing.

7. Testing
Several test were initiated over the 80s to increase efficiency and safety- particularly in the turbine.
April 25, The crew did a routine test to see how long the turbine would keep spinning (and supplying power) after a power outage.
When they went to shut down the unstable reactor, a cooling system flaw caused a massive power surge.

8. The First Explosion
The power surge broke the control rods and caused uncontrolled steam build-up, leading to a steam explosion.
This blew the protection dome off and released radioactive elements and fission into the air.

9. The Second Explosion
Tons of Granite in the Faculty caught fire, than exploded, sending hot granite and metal fragments flying.
This caused the core to explode.
The faculty burned for nine days, releasing over 100 different radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere.

10. Containment Firefighters rushed to the scene to douse the flames.
Helicopters dumped tons of cement, lead, sand, clay, and other substances on the plant.

11. Evacuation Surrounding areas were evacuated in the middle of night.
People from Pripyat, Kiev, and obviously Chernobyl left their homes, some never to return.

12. Cover-up Unlike TMI in the U.S, the soviets attempted a cover-up.
People that were evacuated were not told anything.
The government did not announce the disaster until 3 days afterward, and called it a “minor incident”.
This negligence led to millions of people being unknowingly exposed to radiation.

13. Fallout Virtually all of Europe was exposed to Chernobyl’s fallout.
The Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were worst effected.
Plutonium-241
Strontium-90
Iodine-131
Cesium -137

14. Radiation Effects

15. Statistics 28 emergency workers died from acute radiation poisoning.
15 deaths due to thyroid cancer.
4,000 deaths relating to chernobyl radiation.
600,000 people exposed to high-level radiation.
*Some data is estimated.

16. Reactions to Chernobyl
Increase in nuclear power plant safety in U.S.S.R and the rest of the world.
Several countries discontinued nuclear power.
Panic among radiated people.

17. Chernobyl Today
Belarus is now using Chernobyl’s radioactive soil to produce bio-fuels, mainly ethanol.
Some areas of Chernobyl are still closed, some are open.

18. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster