The world’s worst nuclear power accident

What happened?Chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete lid.

• This happened on April 26, 1986

• It happened in the former USSR (now Ukraine)

• This happened because many safety procedures were ignored

• This was the result of a bad reactor design that was operated with poorly trained personnel and without proper regard for safety.

• Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, April 26, 1986- the routine 20-second shut down of the system seemed to be another test of the electrical equipment. But seven seconds later, a surge created a chemical explosion. The total power of the explosion was estimated to be more than 100 times that of the atomic weapons used in World War II.

• The force of the explosion spread contamination over large parts of the Soviet Union, now the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

• According to official reports, thirty-one people died immediately and

• 600,000 more involved in fire fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to the high doses of radiation.

• Based on the official reports, near 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were exposed to the radiation, which is more than the population of Austria.

• About 155,000 sq. km of territories in the three countries were

contaminated, which is almost half of the total territory of Italy.

• The RBMK-type reactor, like all other nuclear reactors, uses nuclear fission to split nuclei, releasing energy.

• The reactor was scheduled to shut down for maintenance. While preparing for the shutdown, the operators wanted to perform a test to see how long the turbines could run the emergency cooling system if power is interrupted by an accident. THIS WAS A BAD THING!!

• Firefighters were the first emergency personnel on the scene

• About 30 rough fires had to be extinguished, including fires on the roof of Reactor No. 3 which was still running

• When radiation levels began to reach extreme highs, the order was given to evacuate cities, towns and villages near the damaged reactor

• Radioactive particles had to be cleaned from buildings and roads

• Many movable objects were buried in concrete pits • The medical on-site response was minimal • The nurses station at the site was found deserted and even

locked

Sanitation engineer cleaning up the mess

What it looked like after explosion!

                                  

Before The Accident

After The Accident

Special chemicals were sprayed on

streets to immobilize radioactive particles

to prevent further contamination.

German workers wash down a truck on its arrival to the border between East and West Germany after the discovery of radioactive contamination.                                         

Any contaminated dirt near the destroyed

nuclear power station had to be removed. The corridor of a

hospital in Moscow, with

victims of radiation.

                      

        One of the first

calves to experience

mutations. This calf has a cleft

lip.