On
April
25, 1986, Reactor Four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the
Ukraine
was to be shut down for routine maitenance(2). This being an
unusual
and
rare circumstance, it was decided that a test would be run on the
reactor(2).
Engineers and administrators were interested to find out if, in the
event
of an emergency shutdown or some other shutdown, the reactor could
provide
enough electrical power to power the emergency equipment and reactor
cooling
pumps until the diesel backup power supply could take over(2). The
reactor
was reduced to half power, but safety equipment would not allow
further reduction(2).
Therefore, the emergency core cooling system was taken off-line, and at
11:00pm
it was decided to lower the power even more(2). The operators wanted
to
stabilize the reactor at 1000 MW (MegaWatts), but an error reduced the
reactor
to 30 MW(2). The reaction started to
become unstable, so operators
removed all the control rods from the core
and
managed to stabilize the reactor at 200 MW around 1:00am on April 26(2).
Following soon after this, an increase in coolant flow and reduction in
steam pressure
was experienced(2). Operators were again forced
to withdraw almost
all
the control rods, making the reactor very unstable and requiring
adjustments
every few seconds to maintain a constant power(2). Coolant flow was
reduced
to allow the reactor to slightly heat up and increase steam
pressure,
but pumps that supplied the reactor with coolant were already failing
because
they were run off the reactor's steam turbine which was losing steam
pressure(2).
Too much steam was therefore created, and a power surge occurred that
is
estimated
to have been 100 times nominal power for the reactor(2). The heat
associated
with this caused fuel rods to rupture(2). Fuel began to react with
water
and a steam explosion occurred which destroyed the reactor core(2).
This
was followed by a second explosion 2 minutes later that simply added to
the
destruction already taking place(2). The reactor was completely
destroyed,
and radiation simply poured out into the environment(2).
30 firefighters were killed in the immediate aftermath as it was attempted to control the explosion, they were not told this was anything other than a normal fire, and many more people died in the following weeks as cleanup occured(2). The Soviet Union, in an attempt to save people, erected a large concrete box around the reactor to stop as much radiation from escaping the area(2). They call it the Sarcophagus(2).
This Sarcophagus is starting to deteriorate now 18 years after the explosion, and the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry is pushing to have a new one built(12). It has even been said that since the final reactor was shut down in 2000, the entire plant should be enclosed in a giant sarcophagus(12). This time the new structure could be built to last much longer because modern workers would not be battling as much radiation and turmoil as the original workers did in 1986.
The radiation from the plant poured over much of western Europe(2). As the Soviets battled to save their own people, evacuating over 116,000 people initially, other countries could do nothing as radiation simply poured onto them(2). The city of Pripyat, now know as Ghost Town, was home to 48,000 people and sits adjacent to the plant(2). It was completely evacuated and remains completely vacant to this day(2). Check points guard the way in, but people are allowed in with proper permits(15). Much of the city is safe as long as visitors remain outdoors, but buildings themselves hold so much radiation that scientists are cautious which ones they enter even with protective suits on(15). This town also holds one of the most toxic places on the planet Earth(15). In the ground of the Ghost Town Cemetery lies what was left of the core from Chernobyl's Reactor Four(15). Anyone going there will glow from the experience.
The social, economic, and political consequences from Chernobyl were amazing. Over 210,000 people were displaced from their homes, most of them without the ability to ever return(2). They lost everything, even the clothes on their backs(2). The only thing they had left was their life, and many of them not for long(2). No one knows for sure the death toll from Chernobyl, but estimates range everywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 deaths directly from the explosion and radiation cloud(2). Slow deaths caused by non lethal doses of radiation are unaccountable(2). The final monetary value given to the disaster is that a $12.8 billion disruption occurred in the Soviet economy(2). At least two entire cities had to be completely abandoned, and innumerable towns and villages were simply lost(2). An entire city named Slavutich had to be built simply for the workers from the plant that were evacuated(2). The loss of the reactor as well as the hold put on all new reactors caused an electrical shortage in the region, and resources like water and gas had to be decontaminated before they could be used again(2). The equiptment the Soviet Government had to abandon also is simply incredible(15). There are vast fields inside the restricted zone that hold nothing but vehicles and aircraft that were used in the evacuation and cleanup that had to be simply left(15).
Also, due to contamination, many of the region's exports fell, and this caused a general lack of income throughout the area(2). It was also found that the risk of cancer, especially thyroid cancer, has now risen to 15 times what it was before the incident(2). This is especially true in people under the age of 15(2). There is a lower birth rate now in the region surrounding Chernobyl, and those born are often hindered in some way by a genetic defect(2). All this has contributed to a much higher metal health problem in the region(2). Symptoms of anxiety and depression are very prevalent among the people of the region, especially those who were evacuated(2). There has grown a certain victim mentality among these people, and through this many people simply cannot function due to mental stress they undergo every day(2).
It was found that three things contributed to the explosion at Chernobyl. First, the RBMK reactors at Chernobyl suffer from a design flaw(2). They are very unstable at low power because they rely more on steam than water for cooling purposes(2). Water is not only a better coolant than steam, but water also absorbs neutrons and slows down the reaction, steam does not(2). While there are other reactors in the world that suffer from this same problem, they have design features that control the instability(2). In the RBMK reactors, when at low power, too much steam is created, and this leads to the power surge seen at Chernobyl(2). This, in turn, causes the reactor to get hotter and more steam to be created, making the problem worse(2). It is a very hard thing to stop(2). Another contributing factor was that the operators violated procedure(2). First, the reactor's emergency coolant system was shut down to perform the test(2). Second, during the test only 6-8 control rods were in the core at any time(2). The standing procedure was that no less that 30 rods were to be in the core at any time(2). Thirdly, the team that wanted the test conducted did not inform the operators of the risks involved with the test, and therefore the operators were not ready for these things to take place(2). These three things contributed to cause the worst nuclear incident in the history of the world.
30 firefighters were killed in the immediate aftermath as it was attempted to control the explosion, they were not told this was anything other than a normal fire, and many more people died in the following weeks as cleanup occured(2). The Soviet Union, in an attempt to save people, erected a large concrete box around the reactor to stop as much radiation from escaping the area(2). They call it the Sarcophagus(2).
This Sarcophagus is starting to deteriorate now 18 years after the explosion, and the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry is pushing to have a new one built(12). It has even been said that since the final reactor was shut down in 2000, the entire plant should be enclosed in a giant sarcophagus(12). This time the new structure could be built to last much longer because modern workers would not be battling as much radiation and turmoil as the original workers did in 1986.
The radiation from the plant poured over much of western Europe(2). As the Soviets battled to save their own people, evacuating over 116,000 people initially, other countries could do nothing as radiation simply poured onto them(2). The city of Pripyat, now know as Ghost Town, was home to 48,000 people and sits adjacent to the plant(2). It was completely evacuated and remains completely vacant to this day(2). Check points guard the way in, but people are allowed in with proper permits(15). Much of the city is safe as long as visitors remain outdoors, but buildings themselves hold so much radiation that scientists are cautious which ones they enter even with protective suits on(15). This town also holds one of the most toxic places on the planet Earth(15). In the ground of the Ghost Town Cemetery lies what was left of the core from Chernobyl's Reactor Four(15). Anyone going there will glow from the experience.
The social, economic, and political consequences from Chernobyl were amazing. Over 210,000 people were displaced from their homes, most of them without the ability to ever return(2). They lost everything, even the clothes on their backs(2). The only thing they had left was their life, and many of them not for long(2). No one knows for sure the death toll from Chernobyl, but estimates range everywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 deaths directly from the explosion and radiation cloud(2). Slow deaths caused by non lethal doses of radiation are unaccountable(2). The final monetary value given to the disaster is that a $12.8 billion disruption occurred in the Soviet economy(2). At least two entire cities had to be completely abandoned, and innumerable towns and villages were simply lost(2). An entire city named Slavutich had to be built simply for the workers from the plant that were evacuated(2). The loss of the reactor as well as the hold put on all new reactors caused an electrical shortage in the region, and resources like water and gas had to be decontaminated before they could be used again(2). The equiptment the Soviet Government had to abandon also is simply incredible(15). There are vast fields inside the restricted zone that hold nothing but vehicles and aircraft that were used in the evacuation and cleanup that had to be simply left(15).
Also, due to contamination, many of the region's exports fell, and this caused a general lack of income throughout the area(2). It was also found that the risk of cancer, especially thyroid cancer, has now risen to 15 times what it was before the incident(2). This is especially true in people under the age of 15(2). There is a lower birth rate now in the region surrounding Chernobyl, and those born are often hindered in some way by a genetic defect(2). All this has contributed to a much higher metal health problem in the region(2). Symptoms of anxiety and depression are very prevalent among the people of the region, especially those who were evacuated(2). There has grown a certain victim mentality among these people, and through this many people simply cannot function due to mental stress they undergo every day(2).
It was found that three things contributed to the explosion at Chernobyl. First, the RBMK reactors at Chernobyl suffer from a design flaw(2). They are very unstable at low power because they rely more on steam than water for cooling purposes(2). Water is not only a better coolant than steam, but water also absorbs neutrons and slows down the reaction, steam does not(2). While there are other reactors in the world that suffer from this same problem, they have design features that control the instability(2). In the RBMK reactors, when at low power, too much steam is created, and this leads to the power surge seen at Chernobyl(2). This, in turn, causes the reactor to get hotter and more steam to be created, making the problem worse(2). It is a very hard thing to stop(2). Another contributing factor was that the operators violated procedure(2). First, the reactor's emergency coolant system was shut down to perform the test(2). Second, during the test only 6-8 control rods were in the core at any time(2). The standing procedure was that no less that 30 rods were to be in the core at any time(2). Thirdly, the team that wanted the test conducted did not inform the operators of the risks involved with the test, and therefore the operators were not ready for these things to take place(2). These three things contributed to cause the worst nuclear incident in the history of the world.