The Chernobyl Disaster Presented by Diana S Madeline

The Chernobyl Disaster Presented by: Diana S. , Madeline C. , Ariana H. , & Taylor W.

What is Chernobyl? Chernobyl is the name of the city in northern Ukraine, it is more infamously known from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster started early on Saturday 26 April 1986 within the chambers of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Cascade of Events - Initial Testing ● April 25 th, 1986 ○ 01: 00 Testing began on reactor 4, power reduced ○ 13: 05: 00 Turbines disconnected ○ 14: 00 Emergency cooling system disconnected Power reduction delayed to meet power demand ○ 23: 10: 00 Power reduction resumed without proper stabilization ● April 26 th, 1986 ○ 01: 00 Attempts to increase power Unsuccessful ○ 01: 19: 00 Operator blocked emergency signals ○ 01: 23: 44 Power surge, steam spike (pressure increase exceeded “accident level”)

Cascade of Events - Meltdown ● April 26 th, 1986 ○ 01: 23: 48 - Top of reactor blown off due to high pressure ■ Reactor destroyed ○ 01: 24: 00 - Second explosion ■ Debris sent flying, causing fires - graphite fire ○ 02: 54: 00 - Firefighting units arrive ○ 05: 00 - Initial fires put out Artur Korneyev, Deputy Director of Shelter Object, viewing the “elephants foot” lava flow at Chernobyl, 1996. (Photo: US Department of Energy)

Cascade of events - Post explosion ● April 27 th, 1986 ○ First (secret) evacuations in Pripyat ○ 5, 000 tonnes of fill dropped by helicopter on top of reactor ■ Boron, Dolomite, Lead, Sand, Clay (acted as thermal insulator) ● April 27 th - May 10 th, 1986 ● April 28 th, 1986 ○ First official communications - only reported an accident ○ Construction of the Sarcophagus ● May 1 st, 1986 - May day celebrations ● May 14 th, 1986 - Public statement to entire Soviet Union ● June 1986 ● Exclusion zone 1 and 2 established

Social Conditions/Heightened Vulnerability ● Soviet ego - nuclear dominance ● Loyalty to Motherland (Liquidators) ○ ● ● Men (sacrificed) to hoist flag above ventilation tower to symbolize “victory over radioactivity” Mostly affected rural- agricultural areas Detrimental effects to livestock + flora Before accident- young families After accident- older residents who did not relocate

Infrastructural Factors and Failures ● Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant ○ RBMK-1000, Graphite moderated pressure tube type reactor ● Combination of factors leading to accident ● Human Error ○ Test was intended to determine if the cooling core would continue to operate in the event of a loss of power

Social Resources and Response “Liquidators”, the heroic first responders 31 fatalities- counted by the Soviet Union 500, 000 workers battled to contain the contamination Over 300, 000 people were evacuated from their homes Delayed Response and Cover Up: Sweden exposed the devastation of the explosion Construction of the sarcophagus Delayed evacuation-severe repercussions Medical discrepancies

Physical and Environmental Effects - Immediate ● Dispersion of radionuclides and fission fragments into atmosphere ● Sudden Death of liquidators

Physical and Environmental Effects - Long Lasting ● Psycho-social impacts on residents and evacuees ● Thyroid Cancer rose to 5. 6 times its normal rate ● Refuge for many species of fauna

Analysis ● Human error to blame for the disaster ○ Construction and operation ● Human error to blame for response ○ Lack of transparency, resistance to admitting the truth ● Today an 18 -mile exclusion zone, about 1, 000 square miles, surrounds the Chernobyl Power Plant ● Considered the cause of the fall of the Soviet Union ● This led to a demand for a policy of openness, or glasnost from the government

Sources ● “Chernobyl Accident and Its Consequences. ” Nuclear Energy Institute , 1 Mar. 2015, www. nei. org/resources/fact-sheets/chernobyl-accident-and-its-consequences ● Mgribben. “Full Documentary Official ( 2017) Best Documentary 2016 Chernobyl Documentary - Chernobyl Heritage. ” You. Tube , You. Tube, 12 Oct. 2017, www. youtube. com/watch? v=zi. Ousob. GDVQ. ● U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, issuing body. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; United States. Department of Energy, issuing body. United States. Department of Energy. (1987). Report on the accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (Engineering case studies online). Washington, D. C. ]: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.