The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant April 2 | Honest historian
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
April 26, 1986 - the destruction of the reactor of the fourth unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located near the town of Pripyat (Ukraine). The destruction was explosive, the reactor was completely destroyed, and a large amount of radioactive substances was released into the environment. The accident is considered to be the largest of its kind in the history of nuclear power, both in terms of the estimated number of deaths and victims of its consequences, and in terms of economic damage.
In the first three months after the accident 31 people died, another 19 deaths between 1987 and 2004 can be attributed to its direct consequences. 134 of the liquidators suffered acute radiation sickness of varying severity. High radiation doses to people, mostly accident workers and liquidators, have caused or could cause an additional 4 000 deaths from long term effects of radiation.
The cloud from the burning reactor scattered various radioactive materials, especially iodine and cesium radionuclides, over much of Europe. The greatest fallout near the reactor was in areas belonging to Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. The entire population - over 115,000 people - was evacuated from the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the plant.
