...The Chernobyl Disaster Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Written by: Heather Stover ENG135 October 2012 Professor Spencer Robinson Twenty-six years ago in April of 1986 the city of Chernobyl, located in north-central Ukraine on the Pripyat River, was virtually unknown. It was just an obscure city that you and I would never have known existed. Almost incidentally, the name of this city was attached to the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant located about twenty-five kilometers upstream from the city of Chernobyl. On April 26, the city's anonymity vanished forever when, during a test at 1:21 A.M., the No. 4 reactor exploded and released thirty to forty times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was due to the flawed reactor design in use at the plant. The world first learned of history's worst nuclear accident from Sweden, where abnormal radiation levels were registered at one of its nuclear facilities. (Adams, 1996) Ranking as one of the greatest industrial accidents of all time, the Chernobyl' disaster and its impact on the course of events for the Soviets can hardly be exaggerated. No one can predict what will finally be the exact number of human victims. Thirty- one lives were lost immediately, although it was initially reported as only two and the others were to have died from acute radiation poisoning. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belorussians had to abandon entire cities and...
Words: 1838 - Pages: 8
...The Chernobyl Disaster What effects did the Chernobyl disaster have in the world? The Chernobyl nuclear disaster has had some good and bad effects on the world. Have you ever heard of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster before today? My thesis is that Chernobyl has had good and bad effects on the world. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened on April 26, 1986, in the No.4 light water graphite moderated reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in what was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). The event occurred during a late-night safety test which simulated a station blackout power-failure and in which safety systems were deliberately turned off. A combination of inherent reactor design...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...Chernobyl COMM/112 June 7, 2012 Arlee Johnson Chernobyl The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster was the worst in history. The nuclear fallout after the explosion of reactor 4 covered an extensive geographical area of Europe, which affected millions of people. 26 years later thousands of people are still feeling the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear fallout. The most affected from the nuclear fallout where and still are the children of Ukraine. The former Soviet Union denied the link between cancer in millions and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Will these effects continue to affect the people of Europe or will the government correct the damage that has caused the displacement and illnesses of thousands of people? On April 25, 1986 approximately 1:24 am in the small town of Pripyet Ukraine, the worst nuclear power plant disaster occurred. A test was conducted on reactor 4 to see whether four turbines could produce the energy required to continue to keep the coolant pumps running until the emergency generators activated in case of a power loss. An explosion occurred after reactor 4 reached more than 2,000 degrees Celsius, which melted fuel rods and ignited the graphite cover. The radioactive nuclear fallout covered an extensive geographical area of Europe. Over two billion dollars was spent and over 600,000 people called Liquidators, from all over the Soviet Union assisted in the recovery and clean up from 1986 throw 1987. Most of the Liquidators received high doses...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...The topic I have chosen for my research paper is Chernobyl disaster that happened on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR). Chernobyl is considered to be the worst nuclear power disaster in the history. I will be talking about what caused such a big accident, effects of it for the country and the world, crisis management and consequences for people and environment. Chernobyl disaster was caused by human error. There was a test to find out how long it needs cool the reactor if engineers shut down it using only the residual steam and coasting turbines for power to run the coolant pumps. To run this test they had to switch off several automated safety systems. The experiment didn’t work out and ended as the greatest disaster in the world. The number of people whose lives were affected by the disaster is enormous. An estimated 350 000 clean-up workers or "liquidators" from the army, power plant staff, local police and fire services were initially involved in containing and cleaning up the radioactive debris during 1986-1987. About 240 000 liquidators received the highest radiation doses while conducting major mitigation activities within the 30 km zone around the reactor. Later, the number of registered liquidators rose to 600 000, although only a small fraction of these were exposed to high levels of radiation. It also resulted in an impossible to count number of Thyroid cancer cases that often result in death. The entire nearby...
Words: 438 - Pages: 2
...Nuclear Energy Jackie Johnson SCI 207 Dependence of men on the environment Haleh Keshtker Jan. 29,2012 Nuclear Energy Will the Chernobyl nuclear is the large environmental disaster caused by the meltdown at the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl, Ukraine, dramatically changed the world’s opinion about using nuclear power reaction for power. But se the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was built the wooded marshlands of northern, Ukraine, approximately 80 miles north of Kiev. But see the first reactor went online in 1977, but the second in 1978, third in 1981, and the last in 1983, two more were planned for construction ( Ask.com 20th century History). See the media is comparing the threat to Chernobyl and some politicians are calling nuclear for a complete moratorium on the spread of nuclear energy. This is nothing more than sensationalist fearmonering. But see the Chernobyl disaster was caused by the absurd inefficiencies of the soviets and massive flaws in the power plants design. Here is something that is should the container be breached the Japanese government already has things in place to pour concrete over it as was don’t to contain Chernobyl. But see it is not right for Nuclear energy to work there butts off to help out in this world if Japanese government wants to power concrete over everything before they ask the rest of the world if they want that to happen. But see it is worth noting that the facility itself was fairly aged- Forty years, I read in one article-...
Words: 425 - Pages: 2
...Nuclear power and hydropower, both are able to produce energy without releasing fossil fuels into the air. They are both inexpensive to run but they are expensive to build. Both of these clean air options have advantages and disadvantages. Nuclear power plants have had some major disasters in the past, which make people hesitant of building more. You have to think about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and 20th century Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. We have to consider what is best for our environment and if the risk outweighs the benefits. Hydropower was developed many years ago by the “1900’s it accounted for more than 40 percent of United States electricity.” (BOR, 2009) Hydropower produces clean renewable energy that does not release any greenhouse gases and the water evaporates back into the atmosphere. Cost of running hydropower plant is not expensive and can work for years without needing repairs. They provide recreational area, tourist attraction, and controls flooding. The disadvantages “hydropower facilities can have large environmental impacts by changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area.”(Turk & Bensel, 2011) There are high investment costs to build a hydropower plant. Hydropower plants can damage the ecosystem by killing off fish and plants. This can affect the fish and their ability to migrate. Therefore, everything has its drawbacks we have to figure out if it is worth it. Nuclear power plants have...
Words: 732 - Pages: 3
...The disaster began during a systems test on Saturday, 26 April 1986 at reactor number four of the Chernobyl plant, which is near the city of Prypiat and in proximity to the administrative border with Belarus and Dnieper river. There was a sudden power output surge, and when an emergency shutdown was attempted, a more extreme spike in power output occurred, which led to a reactor vessel rupture and a series of explosions. These events exposed the graphite moderator of the reactor to air, causing it to ignite.[3] The resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive smoke fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area, including Pripyat. The plume drifted over large parts of the western Soviet Union and Europe. From 1986 to 2000, 350,400 people were evacuated and resettled from the most severely contaminated areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.[4][5] According to official post-Soviet data,[6][7] about 60% of the fallout landed in Belarus. The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry, as well as nuclear power in general, slowing its expansion for a number of years and forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive about its procedures.[8][notes 1] The government coverup of the Chernobyl disaster was a "catalyst" for glasnost, which "paved the way for reforms leading to the Soviet collapse."[9] Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and substantial decontamination and health care...
Words: 607 - Pages: 3
...People have turned to using nuclear power, however, when reactors malfunction, they negatively affect the environment and the human race. Fukushima and Chernobyl are examples of reactors malfunctioning and affecting the world around them. While both were rated a seven out of seven on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), they had drastically different causes and effects. In 1986, workers conducted a test on the unit four reactor without taking necessary safety precautions, resulting in explosions that almost destroyed it. The reactor was a RBMK-1000 which is a graphite moderated pressure tube type reactor. Its fuel was slightly enriched uranium dioxide (2% U-235). Thirty operators and firemen were killed within three...
Words: 473 - Pages: 2
...Chernobyl: The Ongoing Disaster On April 26, 1986, there was a blast of the fourth reactor of a Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. As a result, there was a huge release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. This nuclear fallout was precipitated mainly in Europe, but especially in large areas of Belarus, the Russia Federation and Ukraine. The consequences of the Chernobyl explosion keep negatively affecting human health and environment, so people should stay away from this region. First and foremost, the consequences of Chernobyl are still dangerous to human health. Untimely, incomplete and contradictory official information about the disaster significantly increased the number of victims. Neither on April 26 nor 27 were residents warned of the dangers, and they were not given any recommendations on how to behave in order to reduce the effect of radioactive contamination ("What Is Chernobyl?"). The Chernobyl disaster has had a significant effect on the mental health and well-being of an entire generation of people. The fact that the affected population is considered more as "victims" rather than "people who have survived after the accident" has led to the fact that they have feelings of helplessness and an inability to control their future ("Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident"). Since the half-life of different radioactive substances released into the environment as a result of the accident ranges from several days to several thousand years, staying...
Words: 895 - Pages: 4
...------------------------------------------------- The Chernobyl-accident Saturday the 26th April 1986, reactor number four exploded at the nuclear power plant near the town of Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union. It is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale - the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. The accident had disastrous consequences - Many people died because of radioactive contamination, and the Chernobyl accident cost the former Soviet Union hundreds of billions of dollars, and some observers believe it may have hastened the collapse of the Soviet government. The reason why the disaster actually took place was because the engineer Nikolai Formin wanted to try an experiment. The nature behind this experiment was to check whether the turbines of the power plant could produce enough energy to keep the cool-down pumpers running until the emergency generator was automatically started (in order to continue the producing of energy). To successfully run this experiment they had to switch off the security system. As a part of the experiment they decreased the reactors energy level so that it only was supposed to use about 25 % of its capacity. For an unknown reason this didn’t happen. Instead the generator used under 10% of its capacity. They noticed they were losing control at this point, so they started all...
Words: 629 - Pages: 3
...Should we continue to use nuclear power? Nuclear power is the use of nuclear processes to generate useful heat and electricity. The use of nuclear power has become more and more common in the world. Many countries like the United States and France have utilized nuclear power for electricity production for a few decades. Many nuclear power plants in various countries have been under construction. However, many serious nuclear accidents, for example Chernobyl disaster and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster have occurred continually from the past to the present. Some people argue whether we should continue to use nuclear power for electricity production. It is well-known that using nuclear power for electricity production has many advantages. From the dimension of environmental aspect, nuclear energy has the lowest influence on the environment. Nuclear energy is emission-free so a nuclear plant will not emit any hazardous gases during the process of electricity production. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and other gases which threaten the atmosphere by causing photochemical smog will not be emitted. Also, carbon dioxide and any greenhouse gases which result in global warming will not be emitted. In the whole nuclear power production cycle, there will be only small quantities of waste produced. And all the wastes and by-products produced are safely kept in the container. Also, water discharged from a nuclear plant will not contain harmful pollutants as the water used for cooling...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...Nuclear power debate – Is it worth using nuclear energy? According to the Interdisciplinary Study of Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Around 6% of the world’s energy and 14% of the world’s electricity is produced by nuclear power”. In the United States, 1 in 5 households and business are electrically powered by nuclear energy. This number is even higher in Europe, where a third of the electricity produced comes from nuclear energy. Though, there is always a strong controversy through the public over the usage of this type of energy. Opponents mainly point out the safety issue, waste management problems in dealing with radioactive residuals and the threat of possible leakage. Despite their arguments, I strongly believe that the benefits of nuclear power usage far outweigh the disadvantages and it is the most economically feasible and environmentally friendly way of producing energy. Some people feel that nuclear power represents the danger to the world in a form of possible nuclear warfare. They state, that many politically unstable countries like Iran, North Korea and Pakistan launch nuclear power programs but behind these programs there is an aim of creating the weapon of mass destruction. Fortunately, despite the fact, that US intelligence agencies suspected explosives to be tested on one of the Iran’s nuclear sites, inspection revealed no signs of possible threat there. Apart from it, historical facts show that while there have been wars in recent decades, they...
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
...the health of future generations resides in the hands of what our lifestyles are today and in our conscious efforts to fight environmental poisons and pollutants like carbon-dioxide, pesticides, fossil fuels, environmental and nuclear wastes because tomorrow is not promised (Göpel, 2011). History has a long list of bad choices which seemed to benefit initially; but, only started environmental conditions to fall like dominoes. The age of the Industrial Revolution in America was a major contributor to the lack of environmental responsibility and the care for our country’s water, soil, air, natural habitats, and animal protection. Unfortunately, the general populous felt the needs and benefits of the improvements outweighed the possible disasters or consequences. Harmful wastes were produced at alarming rates due to the increased needs of building materials like rubbers and steel. The introduction of the steam engine ushered in factories almost overnight facilitating these orders. Unbeknownst to them, nature was choking in the masses of water, air and soil pollution. These factories were the beginnings of the continued...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...Destiny Carter 11/08/12 Per.5 Geography Chernobyl On April 26, 1986, a hellish white glow bejeweled a small, little-known town in central Ukraine, now notoriously recognized by the international community as Chernobyl. During the early morning, operators had been running an ill-conceived experiment on reactor unit number four, during which a spike the operating level of the core caused a catastrophic explosion. The resulting eruption of radionuclide’s, both from the initial explosion and from the subsequently fires, turned the Ukraine contrary into a radioactive waste land. The accident on April 1986 at the Chernobyl power plant demonstrates that planning conducted at a national level alone cannot estimate the risks posed to all nations by nuclear energy. The scope of the challenge to make nuclear energy production safer is even greater than that shown by the accident at Chernobyl. At the nuclear power station itself, several attempts were made to clear away and contain chunks of graphite and other radioactive solids. They sent in volunteers, they were only allowed to be in the power station for 90 seconds or less. In 20-36 minutes at the power station, radiation would have over whelmed the nervous system and subsequently killed anyone as close as these volunteers were. The radiation levels were 15, 00 times greater than a normal person’s exposure in a year. For the past years, major accidents have contributed to our awareness in the nuclear power plant surrounding...
Words: 2273 - Pages: 10
...The Fatal Experiment of Chernobyl and its Long-Term Consequences The fatal experiment of Chernobyl, Ukraine, took place on April 25,1985, with which it was examined whether the turbines could still supply enough electricity to ensure the emergency cooling, or not. In order to let the experiment take place under realistic circumstances, the emergency program was shut off. The emergency program was responsible for the emergency cooling, and to bring in the nuclear fuel rods. For some reasons, the time for the experiment changed in short notice, so that the unprepared night shift on April 26 took over the execution of an experiment, whose experimental assembly had made the reactor unprotected. By an operating error of the inexperienced reactor operator, Leonid Thuptunow, the reactor power dropped shortly before the beginning of the experiment. The operator took out some of the control rods, (where the atomic nuclear chain reaction can be controlled) and fell below the permissible minimum border of 28 control rods. Thus, the reactor was still more difficult to control, and in a dangerous safety condition. The deputy chief engineer of the power station, Anatolij Djatlow, nevertheless instructed the beginning of the experiment. The operators activated too many cooling pumps, so that the reactor, working with little capacity, could not evaporate the water flowing around it any longer. The water began to boil, and first hydraulic impacts were heard. The shift leader wanted to stop...
Words: 823 - Pages: 4
