Date and Time of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The
Location of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The V.I. Lenin Memorial Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station was located in
Background on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station included four nuclear reactors, each capable of producing one gigawatt of electric power. At the time of the accident, the four reactors produced about 10 percent of the electricity used in
Construction of the
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
On April 26, 1986, the operating crew planned to test whether the Reactor No. 4 turbines could produce enough energy to keep the coolant pumps running until the emergency diesel generator was activated in case of an external power loss. During the test, power surged unexpectedly, causing an explosion and driving temperatures in the reactor to more than 2,000 degrees Celsius—melting the fuel rods, igniting the reactor’s graphite covering, and releasing a cloud of radiation into the atmosphere.
Causes of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The precise causes of the accident are still uncertain, but it is generally believed that the series of incidents that led to the explosion, fire and nuclear meltdown at
Loss of Life from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
By mid-2005, fewer than 60 deaths could be linked directly to
Estimates of the eventual death toll from
Physical Health Effects Linked to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The Belarus National Academy of Sciences estimates 270,000 people in the region around the accident site will develop cancer as a result of
Another report by the Center for Independent Environmental Assessment of the
Psychological Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
The biggest challenge facing communities still coping with the fallout of
"The psychological impact is now considered to be
Countries and Communities Affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
Seventy percent of the radioactive fallout from
Radioactive fallout carried by the wind was later found in sheep in the
Chernobyl Status and Outlook :
The
After the accident, Soviet authorities resettled more than 350,000 people outside the worst areas, including all 50,000 people from nearby Pripyat, but millions of people continue to live in contaminated areas.
After the breakup of the
"In many villages, up to 60 percent of the population is made up of pensioners," said Vasily Nesterenko, director of the Belrad Radiation Safety and Protection Institute in
After the accident, Reactor No. 4 was sealed, but the Ukranian government allowed the other three reactors to keep operating because the country needed the power they provided. Reactor No. 2 was shut down after a fire damaged it in 1991, and Reactor No. 1 was decommissioned in 1996. In November 2000, the Ukranian president shut down Reactor No. 3 in an official ceremony that finally closed the
But Reactor No. 4, which was damaged in the 1986 explosion and fire, is still full of radioactive material encased inside a concrete barrier, called a sarcophagus, that is aging badly and needs to be replaced. Water leaking into the reactor carries radioactive material throughout the facility and threatens to seep into the groundwater.
The sarcophagus was designed to last about 30 years, and current designs would create a new shelter with a lifetime of 100 years. But radioactivity in the damaged reactor would need to be contained for 100,000 years to ensure safety. That is a challenge not only for today, but for many generations to come.
Source: about.com
My old article: Chernobyl Power Plant Disaster