Nuclear Disaster #1 Chernobyl

When was the Chernobyl Accident?

April 26, 1986

Where was the Chernobyl Accident?

Pripyat, Ukraine

How far was the power plant from the city of Pripyat?

3 km

What test was block 4 of the Vladimir llyich Lenin Nuclear power plant asked to run? Why did they run the test?

It was a test on a self fueling system of the reactor, and it was something that could save energy.

After the safety features were deactivated, _______, goes off in the core of the plant.

An explosion

The top of the reactor is shot off and this causes _____ __and__ ______ to be shot into the air and will fall on the land.

Uranium, Graphite

Can water put out the fire in the Chornobyl power plant? Why or Why not?

No, water would only worsen the situation because of the chemicals.

How many firemen die that night of the accident?

2

What secret was kept from the world after the explosion?

A second explosion that was prevented that could have wiped out half of Europe.

What were the photographer’s photos like? What caused this?

The colors were very poor because of the radioactivity they were exposed to.,

What does the speaker say about the taste of radiation?

It was metallic

What is a normal radioactive? How much higher was the reading at Chernobyl?

Normal: 12 millionth of Reontgen

Chernobyl: 600,000 times higher

Normall a human can absorb ___ Reontgen in a year the citizens of Pripyat absorbed times the recommended levels of Reontgen in the first day and would receive lethal levels in 4 days. At the power plant it takes only ___ minutes to get a lethal dose.

2, 50, 15

What tablet can counteract radiation?

Iodine

In the day after the explosion, what measures are taken to keep the public safe?

They evacuate the city

How long after the disaster is the city evacuated? How long did people think they would be gone? How long did they have to pack?

30 hrs, 3 days, 2 hrs

Who helps Russia to understand the scope of the accident after 3 days after the accident?

America and Europe help interpret the problem through sattelites.

How hot was it 200 m above the reactor? ______ degrees Celcius

120-180

What do they have to do to the reactor?

Put out the fire and seal off the reactor. They toss tons of sand and boric acid inside.

Six days after the explosion has the government taken responsibility to protect citizens?

NO

How many km is the evacuation area?

Within a 30 km radius of the plant

What was under the power plant? Why is this so important to the country?

195 tons of nuclear fuel that is gradually melting the sand and creating cracks as it continues to burn and could set off another explosion.

On the 13th of May what are the miners doing at Chernobyl?

They were building a 30 meter tunnel and then dug a room to hold a refridgeration device for cooling the reactor.

Is it safe for the miners in the tunnel? What were the mistakes that the miners made?

No, they didn’t use protective gear and drank radioactive water.

Where was the post accident press conference/debriefing held?

Vienna

What date does Gorbavech address the citizens of Russia? What does he say?

May 14th 1986. He states the danger of the problem and how they are trying their best to minimize them.

Does scrubbing the skin and changing clothes help to limit radiation exposure?

Yes

What do they do with the radioactive rubble?

They are put in areas and covered in cement.

What do they have to do for the 4th reactor? And how long can a human work near the reactor?

They must isolate it. A human can work for only a few seconds/minutes at a time.

What does radiation do to machinery? Where does machinery not work at all?

They break down within a few days. They don’t work on the roof.

Eventually how much is the radiation on the roof reduced?

35%

When was the cover on reactor 4 finished? At the end of _______.

October 1986

In the modern era what new insights about the disaster have come to light?

Many people were dying even though it was said that there were few deaths. The radioactivity of the area was very high. A lot of people were going to die. France also lied denying the radioactive clouds flying over their country.

What were the causes of the Chernobyl accident?

\-No containment building

\-Poor reactor design (unsafe) (Inserting control rods initially increased reactor energy generation)

\-Operators were careless & violated plant procedures

\-Causes still in dispute by various parties

What caused the explosion at Chernobyl?

Employees at block 4 were asked to carry out a test on a self fueling system of the reactor which could save energy. In doing so, the security systems were deactivated. Detonations then go off in the core of the reactor blasting off the cover of the reactor causing the explosion.

How many people evacuated and resettled?

200,000

How many direct deaths were there?

56 direct deaths

How many long-term deaths were there?

4,000

What countries were affected the most?

Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia hit hardest