The Chernobyl disaster occurred 35 years on this day at Chernobyl Nuclear power station situated in a town called Pripyat, in modern-day Ukraine. The tragedy in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel. The resulting steam explosion and fires released at least 5 per cent of the radioactive reactor core into the environment, with the deposition of radioactive materials in many parts of Europe.
In 1986, the technicians at a Soviet nuclear reactor failed to execute an experiment as per their plans. On accident night, two Chernobyl plant workers died due to the explosion and 28 people died within a few weeks as a result of acute radiation syndrome. Even after three decades, the horrors of the accident continue to haunt the now abandoned Pripyat and surrounding areas.
Chernobyl Disaster
The disaster unfolded at Unit 4 of the reactor while an experiment was being conducted on this day in 1986 at Chernobyl Nuclear power station. During the experiment, the technicians had shut the power regulating system of the reactor along with other emergency safety measures. They had pulled out the control rods from the core and the reactor was kept running at 7 per cent power.
Technicians’ actions coupled with other failures resulted into the core to go out of control of those running the experiment. After few moments, a big explosion in the reactor caused the heavy material lid of the reactor to blow. A fire broke out in the graphite reactor and the explosion allowed the radioactive material to flow into the air and caused environmental destructions.
It is believed that radiation from the Chernobyl disaster was higher in comparison to the radiations caused by the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. After the disaster, civilians abandoned Pripyat. In 1991, the Unit 2 of Chernobyl was closed after a fire and Unit 1 was shut down after 1996. Unit 3 of Chernobyl remained operational till 2000 when the power station was decommissioned.
Even today, there is an exclusion zone where no one is allowed to live. However, the Ukrainian government allows tourists and scientists to enter nearby areas and even the town of Pripyat for a limited period of time.
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