|
|
| Fig. 1: House in an abandoned village near Chernobyl site. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
On April 26th, 1986, the town of Pripyat of the former Soviet Union experienced a catastrophic incident. An explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant discharged radioactive materials being held at the plant. Due to a flawed design in nuclear reactor and a team of undertrained workers at Chernobyl 4, the explosion caused the surrounding area to be deemed inhabitable due to exposure to Cs-137, which has a half life of 30.17 years. [1] Those who called the area home were forced to abandon it, as shown in Fig. 1.
The day before the explosion occurred, the crew at Chernobyl 4 were working to test the power and longevity of turbines that supplied power in the case of loss of main electrical power. This test had been previously administered at Chernobyl only a year prior so it was assumed to be a safe procedure. However, the crew that administered the test allowed for fuel fragmentation and extremely rapid production of steam when they introduced cooling water to fuel that was at too high of a temperature. The increased steam created overpressure that even the 1000-ton cover plate couldn't withstand. The reactor was then filled with highly pressurized steam and eventually spread to the core which caused a steam explosion. [2] This explosion released at least 5% of the total radioactive materials at the plant. A second explosion spewed extremely hot graphite and fragments from the fuel channels.
The explosion itself killed two workers on the site. However, the radiation effects to come afterward dealt the most damage. Of the sites 600 workers, 28 died in the first four months after the accident due to injuries and radiation. 106 more workers developed Acute Radiation Sickness (ARS). [3]
The damage didn't stop at the power plant. The accident contaminated areas of Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine. Land inhabited by millions of people was deemed contaminated. Because of this, ARS was able to plague the lives of some surrounding dwellers as well. The effects of Chernobyl could also be seen at the psychological level. Shock of the accident along with increased risk of future health effects actually lead to detrimental affects on mental health. A representative sample of people living in contaminated areas surrounding Chernobyl were administered various surveys which pointed out that half of the residents reported psychologic health and well-being as unsatisfactory. [4]
© Jay Tyler. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] F. Marino and L. Nunziata, "Long-Term Consequences of the Chernobyl Radioactive Fallout: An Exploration of the Aggregate Data," Milbank Q. 96, 814 (2018).
[2] "The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery," United Nations Development Programme and UNICEF, February 2002.
[3] "Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident," U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, August 2018.
[4] D. Bard, P. Verger, and P. Hubert, "Chernobyl, 10 Years After: Health Consequences," Epidemiol. Rev. 19, 187 (1997).
.jpg){kind=link}