There is no accurate information, but most likely the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 was the result of an inadequate design of the reactor, which was operated by insufficiently trained personnel.
As a result of the explosion and fire, at least 5% of the active zone of the radioactive reactor was released into the atmosphere. According to official data, two Chernobyl workers died the night of the accident, and another 28 people died within weeks of acute radiation poisoning.
Historical consequences of the Chernobyl accident
The Chernobyl accident is still of great historical importance. This led to major changes in the culture of security and political thinking, as well as in the relations between East and West before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Former President Gorbachev said the Chernobyl accident was a more important factor in the collapse of the USSR than the liberal reform program.
Chernobyl safety measures
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is not operational today and its power unit 4, where the explosion occurred in 1986, was locked in a large concrete shelter that was quickly installed (until October 1986) to allow other reactors to continue operating at the station.
It is worth understanding what the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is today, and attention is still paid to this facility from the safety point of view. Therefore, it has become clear that the fourth power unit needs a more modern and reliable shelter. The design and construction contract was signed in 2007 with the Novark consortium, and preparatory work on the site was completed 10 years later. Construction was completed in 2017. The structure was built with the funds of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It was brought to the scene of the accident on rails.
After the construction of the new bunker, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant looks a bit different today, as above the fourth power unit there is now a 110-meter-high, 165-meter-long, 260-meter-long arc that includes both Block 4 and the first shelter built in 1986. The arched frame is a lattice structure made of tubular steel elements equipped with internal cranes.
Excursion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
UNSCEAR says, according to official reports by highly qualified international experts, "there is no evidence of a serious public health impact related to exposure 20 years after the accident." Today, the areas from which people were evacuated in 1986 are being restored. In 2010, Chernobyl was officially declared a tourist attraction, and a trip to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant became a completely legal event.
