Chernobyl was a nuclear disaster, occurred in 26 April 1986, 1:23 a.m.
it happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant , part of present day Ukraine
the only level 7 even ever recorded, the worst nuclear disaster in history – intl nuclear event scale
a power excursion destroyed one of four nuclear reactors, which caused a steam explosion, then a chemical explosion, ignited with hydrogen mixed with the air, causing several other fires and explosions that released radioactive material into the atmosphere This dispersed large amounts of radioactive particulate and gaseous debris containing fission products and other highly radioactive reactor waste products.[7]
The open core also allowed atmospheric oxygen to contact the super-hot core containing 1,700 tonnes[8] of combustible graphite moderator. The burning graphite moderator increased the emission of radioactive particles, carried by the smoke. The reactor was not contained by any kind of hard containment vessel (unlike all Western plants, Soviet reactors often did not have them).[9] Radioactive particles were carried by wind across international borders,
First over an extensive geographical area, including the nearby town of Pripyat, 18 km NW of the city of Chernobyl.
Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
most fatalities were caused by radiation poisoning
nuclear rain reached as far as Ireland
Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were badly contaminated, and over 350,000 people were evacuated and resettled
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 while forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive.
The countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and substantial decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. It is difficult to accurately quantify the...