Chernobyl tragedy: characteristics and causes

On April 26, 2016, the whole world lit candles and remembered the terrible catastrophe that divided the story on before and after: 30 years of the Chernobyl tragedy. April 26 is the day when people on the planet Earth have learned how a "peaceful" atom can behave. Virtually all the countries of Europe have felt the consequences of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Black date

The Chernobyl tragedy - the explosion and destruction of the fourth nuclear reactor - occurred at the Chernobyl power station. The explosion thundered on the night of April 26, 1986 , at 01:24. In the dead of night in the town all the residents slept, and no one suspected that this date would change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Since then, every year on the territory of the former Soviet republics, the Chernobyl tragedy has been commemorated as the most monstrous and largest accident in the nuclear power industry.

Brief description of the ChNPP

The Chernobyl tragedy occurred at the nuclear power plant (ChNPP) located on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine), just three kilometers from the city of Pripyat and some hundred kilometers from Kiev, the capital of the republic of the Ukrainian SSR and modern Ukraine. At the time of the accident, almost 50 thousand people lived in Pripyat, and most of them worked at a nuclear power plant that fed almost the entire city.

On the day of the disaster four power units operated at the station, a malfunction of one of which caused the accident. Two more power units were being built and were to be commissioned soon.

The Chernobyl power station was so powerful that it provided 1/10 of all the needs of the Ukrainian SSR in electricity.

Accident of the fourth power unit

The Chernobyl tragedy occurred in 1986. It happened on Saturday, April 26, on the floor of the second night. As a result of a powerful explosion, the fourth power unit was completely destroyed and no longer subject to repair. In the first seconds, two workers of the station were killed, who were at that moment in close proximity to the reactor. Instantly, a fire broke out. The temperature in the reactor was so high that everything that was there (metals, concrete, sand, fuel) melted.

The day of the Chernobyl tragedy has become black for hundreds of thousands of people. The release of radioactive substances caused severe radioactive contamination not only of the Ukrainian SSR, but of all Europe.

Chronology of the accident

On April 25, scheduled repair work was to be carried out in the reactor, as well as testing of a new operating mode of the reactor. Before the repair work on the protocol, the reactor power was significantly reduced, at that time it worked only 20-30% of its efficiency. In connection with the repair, the emergency cooling system of the reactor was also shut down. As a result, the power of the power unit fell to 500 MW, while in full force it could accelerate to 3,200 MW. Approximately at half past midnight, the operator was unable to keep the reactor power at the required level, and it fell almost to zero.

The staff took measures to increase capacity, and their attempts were crowned with success - it began to grow. However, OZR (operational reserve of reactivity) continued to fall. When the power reached 200 MW, eight pumps were switched on, including additional pumps. But the flow of water cooling the reactor was small, because of which the temperature inside the reactor gradually began to increase, and soon it reached the boiling point.

The planned experiment with increasing reactor power began at 01:23:04. The start was successful, and the capacity began to grow rapidly. Such an increase was planned, and the station staff did not give it due attention. Already at 01:23:38 an alarm was given, and the test had to be stopped, immediately stop all work and return the reactor to its original state. But the experiment continued. A few seconds later the system received emergency signals about a rapid increase in reactor power, and at 01:24 the Chernobyl tragedy happened - an explosion occurred. The fourth reactor was completely destroyed, and the release of radioactive substances began in the atmosphere.

Possible causes of the accident

The 1993 report referred to the following causes of the reactor accident:

• A lot of mistakes made by the personnel of the power plant, as well as a violation of the experimental rules.
• Continuation of work, despite the fact that the reactor behaved faulty, the staff wanted to finish the experiment by all means.
• The reactor itself did not meet the safety standards, as it had a number of significant design problems.
• The young staff did not understand the whole peculiarity of working with the reactor.
• Bad connection between reactor operators.

Be that as it may, the Chernobyl tragedy happened because of the uncontrolled increase in the capacity of the nuclear reactor, to stop the growth of which was no longer possible.

Some are looking for the cause of the accident not in the error of exploitation, but in the whims of nature. At the moment when the explosion occurred, a seismic shock was recorded, that is, according to one version a small earthquake caused instability of the reactor.

There is another version of the cause of the accident - sabotage. The Soviet leadership was looking for saboteurs, only to avoid the recognition of the fact that the reactor was built with irregularities, and the personnel working there were not so qualified to conduct such tests.

Consequences of the Chernobyl tragedy

The day of the Chernobyl tragedy took many lives. Two station personnel died from the explosion: one from the collapse of the concrete canvas, the second died in the morning from the injuries received. Very badly affected those who dealt with the elimination of the traces of the accident - 134 station personnel and members of the rescue teams were exposed to the strongest radiation exposure. All of them developed radiation sickness, 28 of them died due to radiation contamination after several months.

The firemen of the city immediately reacted to the sound of the explosion. Major Telyatnikov took command of it. The desperate actions of Telyatnikov and his team helped to stop the spread of the fire, otherwise the consequences would be even more catastrophic. Telyatnikov himself survived only thanks to a complex operation on the brain, which he did in England. The first to arrive at the scene of the accident came from the staff of Lieutenant Pravik's brigade, who was killed because of heavy exposure. At the same time, Lieutenant Kibenok, who arrived just after the Ruler, was killed.

By six o'clock in the morning the firemen had managed to suppress the fire. All the liquidators that night did not know at the exit that the reactor had exploded, and therefore they did not even wear anti-radiation protection.

The firemen made a feat that night, which must be remembered now. Only thanks to their heroism and self-sacrifice did not explode the third reactor, which was connected to the fourth and was in close proximity to it. If it were not for the bravery of the firefighters, the consequences of the explosion of another reactor would be difficult to imagine. Therefore, any event dedicated to the Chernobyl tragedy should honor the memory of firefighters who sacrificed their lives in the fight against fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. They saved the world from a big catastrophe.

Already an hour after the accident, the liquidators began to fall from radiation sickness, and most of those who were on the front line were killed. On April 26, the Chernobyl tragedy claimed many lives.

What happened next. Evacuation

On the morning of April 27 (36 hours passed since the accident, while the population had to be evacuated immediately), a message was broadcast over the radio so that the inhabitants of Pripyat were ready to leave the city. Then they still did not know that they would not return to their native places.

On April 28, the first message was delivered that a tragedy occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but it was not said that the whole reactor exploded. A few days later the population within a radius of 30 km was completely evacuated. However, the residents were told that they could return here in three days. Thirty years have already passed, but it is still impossible to live in Pripyat and the outskirts of Chernobyl.

The Soviet authorities kept silent about the fact that the reactor was blown up, there was no talk about it in the media, the whole country then celebrated May Day - the Workers' Day.

Elimination of consequences. Nobody's known heroes

To eliminate the consequences of the accident and to "seal" the reactor, a special commission was created, the members of which decided to drop a special mixture of lead, dilomite and boron-containing substances into the reactor. Ten days later, a large contingent of military arrived in a 30-kilometer zone to avoid the entry of civilians, together with them, scientists and liquidators of the consequences of the accident arrived.

In the first year the number of liquidators of the accident has already reached almost 300 thousand people. Up to now, the number of liquidators has increased to 600 thousand people. People worked in shifts, because they could not endure the long-term impact of radiation, some left, and new ones were brought in their place. To permanently shut off the destroyed nuclear reactor, it was decided to build a so-called "sarcophagus" over it. The first sarcophagus was built 206 days and was completed in November 1986.

Almost a year this event was held. The Chernobyl tragedy is known all over the world, but many liquidators are not known to anyone. These are not actors, not public bright celebrities, who play out false courage and nobility on the stage. These are real heroes who have done everything to reduce the level of radiation contamination, as far as possible. They saved us by their lives.

The reaction of the world community

The Chernobyl tragedy (photo can be seen in the article) soon became known to the whole world: European countries noted an unusually high level of radiation, sounded the alarm, and the truth was revealed. After the whole world learned about the Chernobyl disaster, the construction of nuclear power plants in many countries has practically ceased. Until 2002, the United States and the countries of Western Europe did not build any nuclear power plants. Scientists around the world began working on alternative sources of energy. In the USSR, before the accident, it was planned to build 10 more such power stations and dozens of other reactors in the already functioning stations, but all plans were closed after the events of April 26. The Chernobyl tragedy showed how deadly a "peaceful" atom could be .

Exclusion Zone

Apart from the Pripyat itself, hundreds of small settlements were abandoned. The 30-kilometer zone around the station began to be called the "Exclusion Zone". A zone of 200 km was heavily polluted. Most affected the Zhytomyr and Kiev regions in Ukraine, as well as in Belarus - the Gomel region, in Russia - the Bryansk region. Foci of radiation damage were found even in Norway, Finland and Sweden, forests were particularly affected.

The number of cancer sufferers after the accident has increased dramatically. The most started to suffer from thyroid cancer, which is the first to keep the impact of radiation.

The doctors began to talk about the fact that children born to parents from those regions suffer from birth defects and mutations. For example, in 1987 there was an outbreak of Down syndrome.

The further fate of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

After the whole world learned about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, its operation stopped due to the threat of a powerful radiation contamination. But within a few years the first and second power units started their work again, and later they launched the third power unit.

In 1995, it was decided to permanently stop the power plant. Following this plan, in 1996 the first power unit was stopped, in 1999 - the second, and finally the station was closed already in 2000.

A few years later, the government launched a project to create a new sarcophagus, since the former does not fully protect the environment from the effects of radiation. Thus, in 2012 the Government of Ukraine officially announced that work has already started on the construction of a new protective structure. It must completely seal the power unit, and, according to scientists, the radioactive background will not pass through the walls of the new sarcophagus. The construction should be completed by 2018, and the approximate cost of this project is more than 2 billion US dollars.

In 2009, the Government of Ukraine developed a program for the complete decontamination of the station, which will be held in four phases. The last stage is planned to be completed by 2065. By this time, the authorities want to completely dispose of all traces of the presence of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at this site.

Memory

April 26 of each year is the Day of Memory of the Chernobyl tragedy. The memory of liquidators and victims of the accident is revered not only in the CIS countries, but also in many countries of Western Europe. In France, in Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower, a small event is held on this day, at which people bow their heads before the heroism of firefighters.

Every April 26 in schools hold an information hour, which tells about the terrible tragedy and people who saved the world. Children read poems about the Chernobyl tragedy. Poets dedicate them to the fallen and surviving heroes who stopped radiation contamination, as well as to thousands of innocent people who were victims of the accident.

The memory of the Chernobyl tragedy is at the heart of dozens of documentary and feature films. Films of not only domestic production, many foreign studios and directors have highlighted in their works the Chernobyl disaster.

The Chernobyl disaster has a central place in the series of games "STALKER", and also serves as a plot for a dozen of art novels of the same name.
Most recently, the Chernobyl accident turned 30 years old, but the consequences of the catastrophe over these years are still not eliminated, the disintegration of some substances will continue for thousands of years. This accident will be remembered by the world as the most monstrous energy accident in history.