On April 26, 2016, the whole world lit candles and remembered the terrible catastrophe that divided history into before and after: 30 years of the Chernobyl tragedy. April 26 is the day when people on planet Earth learned how a "peaceful" atom can behave. Almost all European countries 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 plant. The explosion occurred on the night of April 26, 1986, at 01:24. In the dead of night in the town, all the inhabitants were sleeping, 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 day of remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy is celebrated as the most monstrous and largest accident in the field of nuclear energy.
Short description of the Chernobyl
The Chernobyl tragedy occurred at a nuclear power plant (ChNPP), located onterritory of the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine), just three kilometers from the city of Pripyat and some hundred kilometers from Kyiv - the capital of the republic of the Ukrainian SSR and modern Ukraine. At the time of the accident, almost 50,000 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 were operating at the station, the failure of one of which caused the accident. Two more power units were under construction and were to be commissioned soon.
The Chernobyl power plant was so powerful that it provided 1/10 of all the needs of the Ukrainian SSR in electricity.
The accident of the fourth power unit
The Chernobyl tragedy occurred in 1986. It happened on Saturday, April 26, at half past one in the morning. As a result of a powerful explosion, the fourth power unit was completely destroyed and could no longer be repaired. In the first seconds, two workers of the station, who were at that moment in close proximity to the reactor, died. The fire started immediately. The temperature in the reactor was so high that everything in it (metals, concrete, sand, fuel) melted.
The day of the Chernobyl tragedy turned black for hundreds of thousands of people. The release of radioactive substances caused severe radioactive contamination not only in the Ukrainian SSR, but throughout Europe.
Chronology of the accident
On April 25, planned repairs were to take place in the reactor, as well as a test of a new mode of operation of the reactor. Before the repair work according to the protocol, the reactor power wassignificantly reduced, at that time it worked only at 20-30% of its efficiency. In connection with the repair, the reactor's emergency cooling system was also turned off. As a result, the capacity of the power unit fell to 500 MW, while at full capacity it could accelerate to 3200 MW. At about half past midnight, the operator was unable to keep the reactor power at the required level, and it fell to almost zero.
The staff took steps to increase capacity, and their attempts were successful - it began to grow. However, the ORM (operational reactivity margin) continued to fall. When the power reached 200 MW, eight pumps were switched on, including additional ones. But the flow of water cooling the reactor was small, because of which the temperature inside the reactor began to gradually increase, it soon reached the boiling point.
The planned experiment to increase the power of the reactor began at 01:23:04. The launch was successful, and the power began to grow rapidly. Such an increase was planned, and the station staff did not pay due attention to this. Already at 01:23:38 an emergency signal was given, and the test had to be stopped, all work immediately stopped and the reactor returned to its original state. But the experiment continued. A few seconds later, the system received alarms about the rapid increase in reactor power, and at 01:24 the Chernobyl tragedy happened - an explosion sounded. The fourth reactor was completely destroyed, and radioactive substances were released into the atmosphere.
Possible causes of the accident
The 1993 report stated the following causes of the accident atreactor:
- Many mistakes of the power plant personnel, as well as violation of the rules of the experiment.
- Continuing work despite reactor malfunctioning, staff wanted to end the experiment no matter what.
- The reactor itself did not meet 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.
- Poor communication between reactor operators.
Be that as it may, the Chernobyl tragedy happened due to an uncontrolled increase in the power of a nuclear reactor, the growth of which was no longer possible to stop.
Some people look for the cause of the accident not in an exploitation error, 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 the reactor to become unstable.
There is another version of the cause of the accident - sabotage. The leadership of the USSR was looking for saboteurs, only to avoid admitting the fact that the reactor was built with violations, and the personnel working there were not so qualified to conduct such tests.
Consequences of the Chernobyl tragedy
The day of the Chernobyl tragedy claimed many lives. Two employees of the station died from the explosion itself: one from the collapse of the concrete ceiling, the second died in the morning from his injuries. Those who were involved in the elimination of traces of the accident suffered very badly - 134 employees of the station and members of the rescueteams were exposed to the strongest radiation exposure. All of them developed radiation sickness, 28 of them died due to radiation contamination a few months later.
The firemen of the city immediately reacted to the sound of the explosion. Major Telyatnikov took command. The desperate actions of Telyatnikov and his team helped stop the spread of the fire, otherwise the consequences would have been even more catastrophic. Telyatnikov himself survived only thanks to a complex brain operation that he underwent in England. The first to arrive at the scene of the accident were employees of the brigade of Lieutenant Pravik, who died due to severe exposure. At the same time, Lieutenant Kibenok, who arrived immediately after Pravik, also died.
By six o'clock in the morning, firefighters managed to put out the fire. All the liquidators that night did not know when leaving that the reactor had exploded, and therefore they did not even put on anti-radiation protection.
The firefighters accomplished a feat that night that must be remembered today. It was only thanks to their heroism and self-sacrifice that the third reactor did not explode, which was connected to the fourth and was located in close proximity to it. If not for the courage of the firefighters, the consequences of the explosion of another reactor would be hard to imagine. Therefore, any event dedicated to the Chernobyl tragedy should honor the memory of the firefighters who sacrificed their lives in the fight against the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. They saved the world from a big disaster.
Already an hour after the accident, the liquidators began to fall from radiation sickness, and most of those who were on the front line died. On April 26, the Chernobyl tragedy claimed manylives.
What happened next. Evacuation
On the morning of April 27 (36 hours had passed since the accident, while the population had to be evacuated immediately), a message was broadcast on the radio so that the inhabitants of Pripyat were ready to leave the city. Then they did not yet know that they would not return to their native places.
On April 28, the first message was broadcast that a tragedy had occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but that the whole reactor had exploded was not said. A few days later, the population within a radius of 30 km was completely evacuated. However, residents were told that they would be able to 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 hushed up the fact of the reactor explosion in every possible way, there was no talk about it in the media, the whole country then celebrated the first of May - Workers' Day.
Elimination of consequences. Unknown heroes
To eliminate the consequences of the accident and in order to "seal" the reactor, a special commission was created, whose members decided to drop a special mixture of lead, dilomites and boron-containing agents onto the reactor. Ten days later, a large contingent of the military arrived in the 30-kilometer zone in order to avoid the penetration of civilians, scientists and liquidators of the consequences of the accident arrived here with them.
In the first year, the number of liquidators of the accident has already reached almost 300 thousand people. Until our time, the number of liquidatorsincreased to 600 thousand people. People worked in shifts, as they could not endure the effects of radiation for a long time, some left, and new ones were brought in their place. In order to permanently fence off the destroyed nuclear reactor, it was decided to build a so-called "sarcophagus" over it. The first sarcophagus took 206 days to build and was completed in November 1986.
This event has been held for almost a year. The Chernobyl tragedy is known all over the world, but many liquidators are unknown to anyone. These are not actors, not public bright celebrities who play fake courage and nobility on the stage. These are real heroes who did everything to reduce the level of radiation contamination as much as possible. They saved us at the cost of their own lives.
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 unprecedentedly 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 practically ceased. The United States and Western European countries had not built a single nuclear power plant until 2002. Scientists around the world began to work on alternative energy sources. In the USSR itself, before the accident, it was planned to build 10 more similar power plants and dozens of other reactors in already functioning stations, but all plans were canceled after the events of April 26. The Chernobyl tragedy showed how deadlymaybe a "peaceful" atom.
Exclusion zone
In addition to Pripyat itself, hundreds of small settlements were also abandoned. The 30-kilometer zone around the station began to be called the "Exclusion Zone". A 200 km zone was heavily polluted. Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions in Ukraine suffered the most, as well as in Belarus - the Gomel region, in Russia - the Bryansk region. Radiation damage was found even in Norway, Finland and Sweden, forests were particularly affected.
The number of people suffering from cancer has increased critically after the accident. Most began to suffer from thyroid cancer, which is the first one that takes a hit of radiation.
Medics 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.
Further fate of the Chernobyl
After the whole world learned about the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, its operation was stopped due to the threat of powerful radiation contamination. But a few years later, the first and second power units began their work again, and later the third power unit was launched.
In 1995, the decision was made to permanently shut down the power plant. Following this plan, the first power unit was shut down in 1996, the second in 1999, and the station was finally closed in 2000.
A few years later, a government decision launched a project to create a new sarcophagus, since the first one does not fully protectenvironment from exposure to radiation. Thus, in 2012, the government of Ukraine officially announced that work had already begun on the construction of a new protective structure. It should completely seal the power unit, and, according to scientists, the radioactive background will not pass through the walls of the new sarcophagus. Construction is to be completed by 2018 and the estimated cost of this project is over US$2 billion.
In 2009, the government of Ukraine developed a program for the complete decontamination of the station, which will take place in four stages. 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
The Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy is celebrated on April 26 every year. The memory of the 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, where people bow their heads to the heroism of firefighters.
Every April 26, schools hold an information hour, where they talk about the terrible tragedy and the 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 the thousands of innocent people who were victims of the accident.
The memory of the Chernobyl tragedy is the basis of dozens of documentaries and feature films. Film stripsnot only domestic production, many foreign studios and directors covered the Chernobyl disaster in their works.
The Chernobyl disaster is central to the STALKER series of games and also serves as the plot for a dozen fictional novels of the same name. Quite recently, the Chernobyl accident turned 30 years old, but the consequences of the disaster over the years have not yet been eliminated, the decay of some substances will continue for thousands of years. This accident will be remembered by the world as the worst energy accident in history.
