CHERNOBYL DISASTER

Gapfill exercise

On April 26, 1986, the nuclear reactor of the Chernobyl Power Plant in

Ukraine   . The explosion occurred early in the morning, while

plant   were performing a maintenance check. They had turned

off a control system that was keeping the reactor stable. The initial

explosion killed two of the workers, and 28 other workers died of

radiation sickness in the months after the   . The explosion also

caused residents of a nearby town called Pripyat to be exposed to

radiation. Because of this, the residents were forced to evacuate and

find new places to live. In order to   more deaths from radiation

exposure, the   of what was then the Soviet Union created an

exclusion zone around the Chernobyl plant. Although the zone is now

safe for tourists to visit, scientists believe that the most contaminated

areas will not be habitable for over 20,000 years.