Chernobyl: What really happened and what is happening now?

The Chernobyl disaster is a topic for memories, sorrow and error analysis. After all, the largest accident in the history of world nuclear energy has carried away (and continues to take away) a lot of lives.

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And can we say with confidence that we know about all the environmental consequences that have already come and can still come? That is why the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant will be relevant and ambiguous for a long time.

The history of the creation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Chernobyl is a rather ancient city, which was mentioned in the 12th century. Basically destroyed in the war years, it was restored, and a shipyard located on the Pripyat River became its city -forming enterprise. Since there was access to water, and the population was small, the USSR Ministry of Energy decided to build a nuclear power plant at this place.
Construction work was started in 1970, the named after V.I. Lenin. At the same time, another was built nearby self-Pripyat city. The first reactor was launched 7 years after the start of construction, after which the massive settlement of Chernobyl began.

Convenient roads, railway, water interchanges made it quite promising in terms of further development. In addition, the nuclear power plant was a military-strategic object.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was designed for 12 reactors, each of which had a capacity of 1000 MW. That would be at that time the largest nuclear structureBut the builders managed to build only 4 reactors. Two more were in the process of construction, when a disaster occurred.

Chernobyl: What really happened?

About one in the morning April 26, 1986 In the fourth power unit, nuclear power plant specialists conducted an experiment with a turbogenerator, during which they measured its inertial rotation. As a result of overheating of the fuel, the active zone of the reactor was destroyed, which led to the explosion.
No more than a minute passed after the beginning of the experiment, when the first explosion occurred (this happened at 1:24), the second - literally a few seconds later. It was later found that already during the first explosion there was a disconnection or even damage to the security system, and the connection of hydrogen with radioactive steam led to the destruction of the massive cover of the reactor, under the weight of which, which is more than a ton, the roof was destroyed.
Studies have shown that this explosion was chemical nature, and the second was accompanied by the burning of fast neutrons and belonged to nuclear, having a way out about 300 tons in TNT equivalent. This is also confirmed by the coloring of the flame, which was red during the first explosion, and in the second - blue. The nuclear character of the explosion in Chernobyl was also testified by the characteristic cloud-GRIB, which rose above the reactor.
The first thing that was done after the explosion was disconnecting all other reactors. The nuclear power plant has moved to the underground bunker, from where it was carried out in emergency mode.

The explosion was terrible power and strength

The cause of the explosion in Chernobyl

Of course, there were several reasons that led to the tragedy in Chernobyl. And first of all, it affected lack of modern security system. Also at a very low level were automatic control and control.
He played his sad role and a purely human factor. The reactor was supposed to stop before the start of the experiment, but there were May holidays on the nose, to which Soviet people, out of habit, “adjusted” the implementation of production plans. Therefore, they postponed the shutdown so as not to tear off the indicators due to the lack of electricity. And when they nevertheless began to stop the reactor stop, another shift, less prepared.
And finally, experts see the cause of the disaster constructive miscalculations, which were admitted when the reactor was still at the design stage. It is noteworthy that the designer himself warned of one of the shortcomings, who noticed him. But for some reason they did not pay attention to his statements and warnings.

Chernobyl after the explosion

At the first stage, after the explosion in Chernobyl, the employees of the fire expert, directly relating to the nuclear power plant itself, began eliminate fire, which spread throughout the reactor hall and reached the roof that closed the turbogenerator. Then, fire units came to the rescue stationed in Pripyat and Chernobyl. The extinguishing lasted about 3 hours, but it was not so easy to cope with the burning of graphite, which continued to blaze in the reactor.

The water, which was flooded by the reactor destroyed by the explosion, led to several other explosions, less large -scale, but accompanied by emissions of harmful substances. Realizing that the radiation thus spreads further, it was decided to fall asleep with a mixture, which included dolomite, boron, sand clay, as well as lead components - only in the amount of 5 tons.
This mixture was dropped from a helicopter circling over the reactor. This helped to stop graphite and continuation of emissions. And after another 2 weeks, the fourth power unit was covered with a reinforced concrete sarcophagus, into which a cooling system was mounted. Later, in almost 2 thousand settlements, events aimed at disinfecting the territory were held.
Having recognized non -compliance with the rules of the necessary security by the official cause of the disaster, the investigation was stopped. The management of the nuclear power plant was put on court and received various terms of imprisonment.

Chernobyl nuclear power plant: consequences

As a result of the southeastern wind, rising to a height of 1.5 km, emissions of radioactive substances began to gradually spread over the territories Scandinavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria. The alpine mountains somewhat cleansed the cloud, but his trace, according to radiologists, remained almost around the world. The territories were most affected Belarusian and Ukraine.
Having a short half -life, having a radioactive properties of iodine was recognized as safe after a short time after the disaster. But speaking of cesium and strontium, it should be noted that for these substances there is a thirty -year half -life period, which led to the long -term pollution of the territories.
And for thousands of years this indicator for America and isotope of Plutonium is measured, so that they and for many centuries will remain in areas that have been amazed. It is comforting that their radiation is insignificant and the effect on the human body is not so significant.

Dangerous evaporation poisoned the inhabitants of many European countries for a long time

As for the inhabitants of Pripyat, they began to evacuate only April 27. Thus, people remained considerable time without elementary protective equipment at a thousand times over the norms of the territory. The evacuation was carried out in a hurry, taking people on buses, trains, water transport. At the same time, they did not tell people the truth, moreover, they assured that in three days they would return to their homes.

How did the liquidators of Chernobyl die?

Probably, the exact number of victims of the Chernobyl disaster cannot be set, because on whose day the doses of radiation then make themselves felt, killing slowly and mercilessly.

The largest number of victims of the accident, of course, was in the early days when patients with pronounced signs of radiation illness entered hospitals - only in the first 3 days in a specialized the sixth hospital in Moscow The treatment received order 300 people. And this is only one hospital, and only obvious signs.
The dead were buried using concrete sealingsince the bodies continued to radiate radiation.

Official statistics calls a terrible figure - about 600 thousand. That is how many victims of the Chernobyl disaster are listed in government data. Most among them are those who directly, from the very first minutes, fought with fire and radiation: firefighters, military, rescuers, pilots circling the reactor, police officers. The number of victims among this category is calculated by the number from 200 to 240 thousand.

The civilians, first of all, were no less damaged by Chernobyl and Pripyat, as well as territories that were closest to them. This figure, according to official figures, is 116 thousand people.
They did not begin to evacuate people at once, they were also not provided at least minimal medical care in the form of iodine pills, which could at least partially withstand irradiation. And this despite the fact that the territory of the territory of the three then republics of the USSR - Ukraine, Belarus and Russia adjacent to the scene of the accident were polluted.
The number of evacuated is about 220 thousand, but this figure is negligible compared to 5 million people who remained in infected territories and continue to live there until today. Therefore, the total number of victims from the Chernobyl accident exceeds 10 million.

Video: Fates of the first 10 liquidators of Chernobyl

Chernobyl today

For many years, the territory around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has become practically zone of alienation - Residents (including nearby villages) were relocated. Most of the villages were practically tricked with the ground with the help of excavators. Despite the police guard and numerous patrols, the danger of radiation, abandoned housing and enterprises were ruthlessly plundered.
“Life” in Pripyat all these years was glowing at 3 points: laundry, garages for heavy trucks, as well as a pumping station next to a deep well. All these objects work to ensure the life of the power plant.
The radius of the above -mentioned alienation zone is 30 km, the center of this "dead" circle is the power plant itself. And today a visit to this area is banned. Only former residents who have the graves of relatives, or a guide group with permission, can miss there.
And, of course, workers who directly serve the construction of the sarcophagus and the sarcophagus itself, designed to finally close the radiation threat directly. At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in which, since 2000, about 3,000 people have been completely terminated.
Sarcophagus, erected over the reactor, will reliably protect the environment for at least a century. During this time, it is planned to carry out all the necessary work on dismantling and cleaning the old sarcophagus, as well as the remnants of the fourth reactor. The Chernobyl 30-kilometer zone can become a repository for the used nuclear fuel from European countries. There are also plans for the construction of a solar power plant on the territory of Chernobyl, which is facilitated by the existing structure of power lines.

As for people, after the accident, another city was built SlavutichIn which employees, employees serving the station live.

Is it possible now in Chernobyl?

35 years have passed since the terrible explosion - this is a significant period of time, during which nature returns to the zone of Chernobyl in its natural, practically pristine, not disfigured person.
The correct decision was made by the Ukrainian authorities in 2016-to declare a 30-kilometer zone reserved territory. Moreover, today in all its glory there is wildlife, whose representatives are surprisingly inhabited by: wolves and bears with deer and turtles, not to mention bison, beavers and even rare wild horses. It is noteworthy that they have not been revealed mutations - they are freely breed in the wild.
Today, the Chernobyl 30-kilometer zone of alienation has turned into a popular tourist route, which beckons and fascinates its danger and secret. This is almost an open -air museum. Over 50 thousand tourists annually come to see their own eyes, which have become the center of the greatest environmental disaster of the planet. Chernobyl himself still remains protected by the military territory, and the power plant occupies the central place in the distribution of electricity between Belarus and Ukraine.

The series "Chernobyl"

In 2019, the American Channel of the NVO shot a series of disaster, which is called Chernobyl. The directors tried to recreate to the smallest details of both events and real people who took part in the elimination of the consequences of the disaster.
As far as they succeeded, the opinions diverge here. For example, the head of one of the operations regarding the removal of radioactive elements, Nikolai Tarakanov, who bears the title of Major General, believes that the series is made masterfully and reliably. But one of the direct liquidators Lev Bocharov states that the events are reflected, to put it mildly, not very true.
The scenes associated with Pripyat were shot by the Americans in Vilnius. For the film, real notes were used on which negotiations of fire dispatchers are recorded.

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