Background Of Chernobyl

1. Background Of Chernobyl The Chernobyl nuclear power station included four nuclear reactors each capable of producing electric power. At the time of the accident the four reactors produced about 10 percent of the electricity in Ukraine. Construction of the Chernobyl power station began in the 1970s. The first of the four reactors was ordered in 1977 and reactor number 4 began producing power in 1983. When the accident occurred in 1986 two other nuclear reactors were under construction. On April 26, 1986 reactor number exploded and releasing radiation into the atmosphere. By 2005 fewer than 60 deaths could be connected to Chernobyl mostly workers who were exposed to massive radiation during the accident or children who developed thyroid cancer.

2. Where was Chernobyl ?

3. What is there to know about the nuclear Power Plant? • After 1977, when the nuclear reactor started working, Pripyat attracted many young couples because modern housing, good amenities and ample work opportunities were provided for both men and women. • Men usually worked at the power plant and women in the service sector – in one of city’s many restaurants, hospitals, schools and libraries.

4. What were the improvements to the power plant safety? • Some of the improvements that were made in the power plant was the world’s nuclear workers got together in Moscow in 1989 to form WANO (the World Association of Nuclear Operators) which was a nuclear industry promise to avoid such an accident like Chernobyl from happening again.

5. What were the improvements to the power plant safety? • Some of the steps to improve the power plant safety were • peer reviews - WANO provides an independent team of professionals to examine plant safety • operating experience - events reports from nuclear power plants worldwide are collected by WANO. • professional and technical development – an information exchange forum is provided through workshops, seminars, expert meetings and training courses. • technical support and exchange – more than 120 technical support missions are conducted each year, where a group of highly qualified peers visits a plant to solve a specific issue.

6. How is this power plant beneficial ? • After 1977, when the nuclear reactor started working, Pripyat attracted many young couples because modern housing, good amenities and ample work opportunities were provided for both men and women. • Men usually worked at the power plant and women in the service sector – in one of city’s many restaurants, hospitals, schools and libraries.

7. What caused the explosion? • The accident, which occurred in the early morning of April 26, 1986, resulted when operators took actions in not listening to the plant’s technical terms. Workers ran the plant at very low power, without the right safety precautions and without properly directing or communicating the procedure with safety personnel. Also knowing that reactor was highly unstable at low power.

8. What caused the explosion? • These factors all contributed to an uncontrollable power rush that led to Chernobyl 4’s destruction. The power rush caused a sudden increase in heat which burst some of the pressure tubes containing fuel. Which hot fuel bits reacted with water and caused a steam explosion. Followed by a hydrogen explosions • The fire burned for 10 days, releasing a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere.

9. How could these have been avoided ? Chernobyl could have been avoided if the operator listened to the safety precautions tips and wouldn’t of ran the Nuclear Power Plant In low power and instead should waited until it got in the power range of 700 – 1000 , which was recommended.

10. What was the backlash of the explosion ? • An amusement park was planned and built, ready to open its gates to the residents of Pripyat on May 1st, 1986. It would have opened five days too late: in the end, not even one person ever got to ride on the Ferris wheel or the bumper cars.

11. What were the consequences that affected the people? • On April 26th, 1986, reactor four at the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl Ukraine exploded, releasing more than a hundred times the radiation of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thirty one people died soon after the explosion and thousands more are expected to die from effects of radiation in the years to come. But two died right when Chernobyl exploded. • Plus 237 people were diagnosed with Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and only 28 people died as a result of ARS within a few weeks of the accident. And Nineteen more died between the years of 1987 and 2004 • Also it is believe that the accident also was responsible for 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer.

12. What were the consequences that affected the people? • What was Thyroid Cancer? • Its a disease that you get when abnormal cells begin to grow in your thyroid gland • You may get a lump or swelling in your neck. • You may have pain in your neck and sometimes in your ears. • You may have trouble swallowing. • You may have trouble breathing or have constantly gasping. • You may have a repeated cough. • What was Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) ? • The radiation dose was high • The radiation was able to reach internal organs (penetrating) • The person entire body or most of it, received the dose • The radiation was received in a short time usually within minutes

13. What is Life in Chernobyl now? • Pripyat today is an abandoned city in the Zone of Alienation in northern Ukraine near the border with Belarus, about 100 km from Kiev. The Zone of Alienation is the 30km-radius around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Pripyat and Chernobyl are 15 km apart. Since 2002, the Chernobyl Zone of Exclusion is officially open for, well, not tourism, but for people who feel strangely attracted to disaster sites and decay and want to see for themselves.

14. Can people visit today ? • Contrary to popular belief, the area is not deserted. Though it is not possible to live in Pripyat now and will not be for the next few thousand years because of the high radiation, people do live in Chernobyl, usually for a stretch of four weeks at a time before returning. That’s why Chernobyl today even has a hotel, two shops and a bar.

15. When will it be Habitable? • Today, around 500 people live in Chernobyl, mainly scientists and nuclear workers employed to decommission the plant, which will likely take until 2070 or longer. Otherwise, some of the older residents moved back to the villages around Chernobyl quite early. There are also the guides who show people around and a surprising number of looters, looking for anything valuable among the rubble or generally for trouble