The Chernobyl
Nuclear Accident
On April 26th, 1986 there was an explosion at a nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, on the border between Ukraine and Belarus. One of the reactors exploded releasing tons of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
The accident killed 31 people and over 200 more people were hospitalized for radiation sickness. Due to the nature of radiation exposure many of the medical effects may not form until many years after the accident. These medical problems may include cancer, birth defects, and skin diseases. There is an estimate of 6500 people that may die from cancers caused by the radiation.
The cause of the disaster was a malfunction within the plant that caused the radioactive core to become exposed. This caused a particle meltdown that let off large amounts of radioactive material. Many of the details of the accident are still unknown. Some people believed the accident was caused because the operators were over confident in their decision making. Others said that there was a flaw in the design of the reactor and others blamed the accident on the safety systems. Further investigation showed that all three factors were involved.
A quarter of the country's best farmlands and forests have been poisoned for hundreds of years by caesium 137 and strontium 90. Where there is plutonium the land will be uninhabitable for ever.
Hundreds of towns and villages were evacuated, and the entire country has been declared a zone of international ecological disaster.
In southern Belarus thyroid cancer in children has increased by more than 100 times, due to the large amounts of radioactive iodine they have ingested, and there have been rises in many other types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory problems, ailments of the digestive system and birth defects.
The disaster at Chernobyl affected people all over the world and also affected various areas around the world due to the radiation leak. The effects of the accident were both local and worldwide. Wind carried the huge masses of radioactive particles all over the world. Europe was greatly affected by the disaster because bans had to be put on many foods which hurt the areas financially. Belarus, the country to the north of the accident suffered the worst. Even the United States received some radioactivity from the explosion. People all over the world came in contact with the hazardous radioactive particles.
"This is the one place where you could understand how the world would be after a nuclear war," (Dr. Vladimir Chernousenko). The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was one of the worst disasters of all time. Effects of the disaster are continuing to show as time passes and the amount of people still suffering is tremendous. The estimated recovery time for this disaster is up to 130 years. Future generations are sure to learn from this great disaster which occurred at Chernobyl.