essay on chernobyl :: essays research papers

Chernobyl AccidentThe April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor design conjugate with serious mistakes made by the plant wheeler dealers in the context of a system where training was minimal. It was a direct consequence of Cold warfare isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture. The accident destroyed the Chernobyl-4 reactor and killed 30 people, including 28 from radiation exposure. A further 209 on send were treated for acute radiation poisoning and among these, 134 cases were confirmed (all of whom re remunerateed). Nobody off-site suffered from acute radiation effects. However, large areas of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and beyond were contaminated in variable degrees. The Chernobyl disaster was a unique event and the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power where radiation-related fatalities occurred.* On 25 April, front to a r startine shut-down, the reactor crew at Chernoby l-4 began preparing for a trial to determine how long turbines would spin and supply power following a loss of main electrical power supply. Similar tests had already been carried start at Chernobyl and other plants, despite the fact that these reactors were known to be genuinely unstable at low power settings. A series of manipulator actions, including the disabling of automatic shutdown mechanisms, preceded the attempted test early on 26 April. As flow of coolant water diminished, power output increased. When the operator moved to shut down the reactor from its unstable condition arising from old errors, a peculiarity of the design caused a dramatic power surge. The go off elements ruptured and the resultant explosive force of steam lifted off the cover plate of the reactor, releasing fission products to the atmosphere. A second explosion threw out fragments of electrocution fuel and graphite from the core and allowed air to rush in, causation the graphite moderator to burs t into flames. Some 5000 tonnes of boron, dolomite, sand, clay and lead were dropped on to the burning core by helicopter in an effort to extinguish the hellhole and limit the release of radioactive particles.