Chernobyl

Disaster And it’s impacts on the environmental movement

Overview

 Location: Chernobyl, Ukraine, Europe 

 Date: Saturday 26 April 1986
 Area: Chernobyl  Nuclear Power Plant, Reactor no.4 
 Cause: Reactor Explosion 
How it happened

 In reactor number 4, the water cooling down the reactors got depleted suring
a similation test of an electric power outage that went wrong so the chain
reaction and power output of the reactor increased out of control
 The reactor already had flawed designs and was operated badly by the
workers
 Due to all it this, it exploded and exposed the core, spreading radioactive
material across the area as well as its surroundings 
What makes it unique

 It is one of two of the worst nuclear disasters in the world it’s magnitude
rated at seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the maximum points
in severity 
 The reactors themselves had a unique design which made the explosion extra
special
 The Ukrainian Government tried to hide it until it was detected by radars in
other countries
 Death still continues till today while DNA alterations have become hereditary
Short term effects

 There were 2 immediate deaths from the explosion then 31 recorded

afterwards although 50 was estimated.
 Animals had to be slaughtered with suspicion that they may have the
radioactive material in them
 Liquidator groups(people hired to stop the fire and radioactive material from
spreading in exchange for incentives) were formed. An estimated 600 000+
registered where the UN suspects about 15% of them died during the act and
after
Long term effects

 The area is said to be in habitable for atleast the coming 20 000 years as the
material persists
 There had to be mass evacuation in the area resulting in homelessness and
social rejection
 The nearby town Pripyat as well as a bit of Russia and Belarus got affected by
the material where people reported body alterations like parts of skin ageing
faster than the others and cancers
 The land became so contaminated that agriculture could not be performed
The environmental movement

 What is the environmental movement?

This is a group of multiple organisations dedicated to protecting the environment
from pollution, exploitation and destruction. Their main events include Earth day
 So how did the Chernobyl Disaster affect the environmental movement...?
1. Reactor safety was much pressed on from its design to it’s proper
containment just incase it blows
2. Automation was adopted incase an error that cannot be picked by humans
rose
3. Industries are now built with the environment and ecology in mind by
reducing emissions and building industries far from people and nature
4. A law rose to make factory/industrial operations as truthful as possible
What’s happening now?

 Belarus commenced a resettlement plan for the area that was affected
 The Chernobyl area remains unsettled and sealed with a stellar and concrete
wall
Chernobyl Desertion
Bibliography

 https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/culture/article
/chernobyl-disaster
 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190725-will-we-ever-know-chernobyl
s-true-death-toll
 https://www.britannica.com/event/Chernobyl-disaster
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
 https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safe
ty-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx