The Chernobyl Nuclear Accident

Those were the words from a speech by Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the former Soviet Union, shortly after the Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred April 25th /26th, 1986.

On April 25th, prior to a routine shut-down, the reactor crew at Chernobyl reactor number four began preparing for a test to determine how long the plant's turbines would spin and supply power after the plant's own power supply was shut down. Similar tests had been carried out at other plants-despite the fact that these reactors were already known to be unstable at lower power settings. The series of operator actions-including the disabling of automatic shutdown mechanisms, preceded the attempted test early on April 26th.

The loss of the main power to the plant prevented the liquids used as coolant from being pumped throughout the reactor-causing the heat of the reactor core and the steam to increase. When the operator moved to shut down the reactor from its unstable condition arising from previous errors, a flaw in the reactor design caused a dramatic power surge.

At 1:23AM, the intense heat caused an explosive force of steam-which blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete cover plate. The exposure to the internal parts of the reactor caused nuclear fission products to be released into the atmosphere, and a second explosion threw out fragments of burning fuel and graphite from the core and allowed air to rush in. The presence of oxygen caused the graphite to catch fire-and it burned for nine days; causing the major release of radioactivity into the environment.

Firefighters were rushed in to stop the flames, and after several days they succeeded in doing so-but the exposure to high levels of radiation on site caused the deaths of twenty-eight of them afterward. The radiation spread quickly throughout the surrounding twenty-mile radius, and about 135,000 people were evacuated-and more afterward. The radiation has possibly affected one-million people, and by the year 2000 about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer had been diagnosed in exposed children.

Fortunately, thyroid cancer is usually not fatal if treated early. Fallout from the accident has contaminated people in its home country (now called Ukraine), some other parts of the Soviet Union, and eastern Europe.

Even with a large area of Europe and Asia affected by the accident and the several thousand casualties-the fallout from the accident is not really considered to have had a very deadly and significant impact; when compared to the tragic nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where many thousands died instantly. Nonetheless, this accident has supported opposition to the construction of power plants across the nation.

Many believe that nuclear power is no less evil than the burning of fossil fuels when they realize its true power. Many oppose the building of a new plant in their community for the fear that some miraculous nuclear explosion will kill them-or the ignorant fear that nuclear power plants regularly release radioactive “emissions” into the atmosphere. The truth is this: nuclear power is only as dangerous as those who handle it.

The accident at Chernobyl was caused by human error and flaws in reactor design, and it is the only accident that actually released radioactivity into the environment. Today, better reactor design and computerized controls keep the reactors in check-harmless to the outside world. Nuclear power is also more efficient and does not pollute the air-unlike the trusted fossil-fuel plants.

Also, a reactor cannot explode like a nuclear bomb. Nuclear weapons are made with different concentrations of radioactive elements than those used in power plants. Any accident that occurred was due to the buildup of steam or another mechanical error.

As you can see from the information above, a nuclear reactor is harmless unless it is in the wrong hands or is used improperly; and in the United States, every precaution is taken to prevent any human error that could cause the release of harmful radiation. I'd say that they are doing their job well-because over one hundred reactors are currently active in our country, and none of them have had accidents that released radiation to the environment.

So, if your community is confronted by people who want to build a nuclear power plant in your community, and if it can possibly save money on your electric bill in the future: Don't be afraid to say yes.