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The Chernobyl Meltdown. Leigh Dominy. Background. The accident happened in Ukraine on April 25, 1986, the flawed reactor design was operated by untrained workers to test how long the turbines would spin and supply power to the main circulating pumps.
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The Chernobyl Meltdown Leigh Dominy
Background • The accident happened in Ukraine on April 25, 1986, the flawed reactor design was operated by untrained workers to test how long the turbines would spin and supply power to the main circulating pumps. • The hot fuel combining with cooling water led to an explosion of the Chernobyl Reactor 4. • 5% of the radioactive core was released in to the atmosphere.
Background • The explosion killed 30 operators and firemen within 3 months, one died immediately and another died weeks later in the hospital. • 134 cases of exposed radiation were confirmed, of these 28 people died of Acute Radiation Syndrome. • The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded , radioactive substances stayed in the air for about 10 days.
Population • Approximately 4,500 people lived in Chernobyl, out of that only 400 remain living there. • The people that are still there don’t want to leave because they say they would rather die at home from radiation than in an unfamiliar place.
Historical References • The reason they were testing reactor 4 was because they were trying to keep the power to the turbines to keep power going. • During that time the reactor had too much pressure on it from the fuel and the cooling water mixing and it exploded.
What Happened? • The Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant exploded and released 5% of radiation into the Earths atmosphere. • The staff was to blame, because they were irresponsible and failed to observe the terms of security. • The response was that the population decreased to 400 people that were scared to live in their home. • Cleanup- They recruited liquidators that were exposed to 300,000 times the normal amount of radiation.
Environmental Concepts • Chapter 17 Nonrenewable Resources/Nuclear Power Plants- The accident was caused by a Nuclear Power Plant reactor explosion. In Chapter 17 it talks about the advantages and disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plants & One disadvantage is the process could potentially get out of control & that’s exactly what happened to the Chernobyl Reactor 4.
Damage Report • 400,000 people were estimated dead, due to the explosion, 28 firemen & 2 workers were killed due to being exposed to radiation. • 1 of the workers died immediately • The second worker died weeks later in the hospital. • 28 of the firemen died within 3 months of the accident.
Lessons Learned • The accident has shown the importance of safety and the strict understanding of technical safety principles. • The adoption of legislative acts gives cleanup workers & the affected to have someone to talk to about the accident and how they were harmed. • They expanded money & effort on improving nuclear safety.
Could this happen again? • Yes, we still use power plants to get our energy and if it has happened once it could happen again. Other complications in power plants have occurred that are similar. • For Example: • March 31, 1987, Peach Bottom in Delta, PA – Unit 2 & 3 were shutdown due to cooling malfunctions & unexplained equipment problems.
Sources • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_the_United_States • http://www.tesec-int.org/chernobyl/Lessons.htm • http://mitkevich.wordpress.com/2012/11/10 • http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident/ • http://history1900s.about.com/od/horribledisasters/p/Chernobyl.htm
