SAFETY, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

PRESENTATION

CHERNOBYL TRAGEDY

PRESENTATOR

Lim Jin Cheng Luqman Hakeem Bin Fauzi

WHERE IS CHERNOBYL?

Here it is!

REACTOR

Reaktor Bolshoy Moshehnosty Kipyashiy, (RBMK) “Reactor (of) High Power (of the) Channel (type)”.

There were 4 reactors. Capacity of each reactor was 1 GW.

INCIDENT

o 26 April 1986o Nuclear accident in the Reactor 4o It is considered the worst nuclear power plant

in history at level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. .

HUMAN ERRORS

Isolation of the emergency core cooling system

Unsafe amount of control rods withdrawn Connection of the four main cooling pumps

to the right and left of the system

HUMAN ERRORS (CONT)

Mental model The operator did not have a good mental model

of the system itself Overconfidence

By having an electrical engineer on site for an electrical test

No confirmation of cues obtained from the system

SYSTEM ERRORS

Use of graphite as a moderator Flawed reactor design and corruption Lack of a well-built containment structure Inadequate instrumentation and alarms for

an emergency situation Inadequately trained personnel Lack of proper regard of safety

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT

April 26, 1986:Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Operator errors cause a reactor explosion Explosion releases 190 tons of radioactive gasses

into the atmosphere Fire starts that lasts 10 days

People: 7 million lived in contaminated areas; 3

million were childrenWind:

Carries radiation far distances

THE FALLOUT

EFFECTS ON HUMAN

CASUALTIES 5.5 million people still live in contaminated

areas 31 people died in 3 months of radiation

poisoning 134 emergency workers suffered from acute

radiation sickness 25,000 rescue workers died since then of

diseases caused by radiation Cancer afflicts many others Increased birth defects, miscarriages, and

stillbirths

CASUALTIES (INDIRECT)

• By the year 2000 there were 1800 case of thyroid cancer in children and adolescent

• High number of suicide and violent death among Firemen, policemen, and other recovery workers

ENVIRONMENT IMPACT

Areas still impacted today:SoilGround WaterAirFood

Crops Livestock

EFFECT ON ECONOMY

Between 300,000 and 60,000 people were brought in to clean up

Over 235 billion dollars has been spent to clean up the disaster

Belarus lost 1/5 of its farming lands (700 million dollars a year loss)

350 industries were lost due to the disaster

RECOMMENDATIONS

Have proper Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for both normal and emergency situations

Have scheduled trainings and practices for normal and emergency situations

Always have a reactor expert on site Have operators confirm any cues from the

system before making hypothesis or take action

Have a teamwork kind of environment such that everybody is involved

LESSONS LEARNTA stepping stone for a new philosophy – new term in nuclear energy “safety culture”

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) as units of national importance

Safety first! Priority given to people’s safety and preservation of the

environment rather than productivity

Overhaul of current and future projects with focus on risk minimization

Emergency preparedness and safety measures

• Understand, respect and minimize risk

• International and national emergency response systems, highly involving the

community

• Adequate radiation measuring technology in place

• NPP community for knowledge exchange (WANO) and international scientific co-

operation

• Constant quality and safety control and measurement

• Continuous improvement of technology and safety measures

• Communication is key!

END