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The Chernobyl Disaster

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The Chernobyl Disaster CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES The Chernobyl Disaster More than three decades later, the Chernobyl disaster re- mains the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history. The effects of the meltdown at the nuclear power plant can still be seen throughout the region today. The area surrounding the facility, known as the “exclusion zone,” still suffers from radio- active fallout and is largely uninhabited. Cancers and birth de- fects caused by exposure to radioactive materials are com- mon in both Ukraine and Belarus. During the early hours of April 26, 1986, workers at the Chernobyl Nucle- ar Power Plant near Ukraine’s border with Belarus attempted an experi- ment to test how one of the reactors could perform in the event that the Pripyat — A town built in the 1970s to house power station lost power. The test, which suffered from poor planning and coor- plant workers and their families. The city was ex- dination, sent a sudden surge of power and heat into the reactor, result- posed to high amounts of radiation following the ing in its failure. A steam explosion ruptured the roof of the station, send- ing a cloud of radioactive material spewing into the air and setting off a Chernobyl disaster. All of its residents were evacu- fire that burned for 10 days. ated and it remains uninhabited. Tourists can visit the town on state-approved tours, but they must be The explosion led to the deaths of two workers in the immediate after- careful not to stir up radioactive particles in the soil. math of the disaster. Another 28 workers died in the ensuing months. Radiation exposure — Thousands of people in The nearby town of Pripyat, built specifically for Chernobyl workers and Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were exposed to high their families, was exposed to huge amounts of radiation immediately fol- lowing the explosion. However, the Soviet government failed to inform levels of radiation, leading to an increase in birth citizens of the disaster and waited until April 27 to begin evacuating the defects and thyroid cancer in children. town’s 30,000 inhabitants. Many residents were exposed to radiation for 36 hours before being evacuated. Liquidators — The name given to emergency work- ers who were sent to Chernobyl to contain the dis- Despite efforts by the Soviet government to cover up news of the disas- aster. Hundreds of thousands were cycled through ter, Swedish monitoring stations detected unusually high levels of radio- to help cleanup efforts. Many were firefighters or activity in the air as winds from Ukraine made their way northwest. The Soviet Union was forced to admit that there had been an accident, setting miners with no prior experience with nuclear clean- off concern across the world about radioactive fallout. up. Large numbers have health issues today. The Soviet government launched a massive cleanup effort, enlisting workers from across the country to rush to contain the disaster and to prevent another, more catastrophic explosion. In the weeks that followed, workers were exposed to huge amounts of radiation. Workers encased the damaged reactor in concrete, a structure that came to be known as the “sarcophagus.” In 2016 Ukraine and eight govern- ments completed construction of a new, more permanent sarcophagus. Updated: June 2017 Remains of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The disaster raised the issue of nuclear safety throughout the world and em- boldened opponents of atomic energy. Following the disaster, plans for new nuclear power plants in some countries were suspended. Germany, for exam- ple, began to phase out its nuclear industry in the 1990s in the face of domes- tic opposition. The disaster has also been credited with giving momentum to environmental movements in Europe and the United States. Traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs At the time of the disaster, Mikhail Gorbachev, who had recently become the leader of the Soviet Union, was planning a reform program called glasnost, meaning “openness,” which he promised would reduce restrictions on the flow A new sarcophagus installed in 2016 is meant to of information. Revelations that the government had attempted to cover up the contain radioactive material for 100 years. disaster increased calls for more transparency and put pressure on Gorbachev to follow through with his promises. Some historians have argued that Cherno- byl marked one of the first of a series of events that would end in the collapse Why did the Soviet government wait to in- of the Soviet Union in 1991. form its citizens of the Chernobyl disaster? What were the effects of that decision? In Ukraine the Chernobyl disaster became a symbol for independence move- ments that were critical of the Soviet state and the way its policies affected So- Split students into two groups: One in favor viet citizens. However, following the dissolution of the USSR, victims of the of building new nuclear power plants and one disaster have struggled to secure adequate support from the independent opposed. Ask students to organize a debate states of Ukraine and Belarus. over the use of nuclear energy. What are the pros and cons? Despite the high levels of radiation, plants and animals in the contaminated zone surrounding Chernobyl have flourished. The lack of human activity has Drawing on other readings covering the Gor- allowed animals such as wolves and wild horses to return to the area. bachev era, discuss how the Chernobyl dis- aster influenced the events that led to the The accident also informed the Japanese government’s response to the Fuku- dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. shima disaster in 2011. Residents were evacuated more swiftly, and the effects of radiation were better understood due to the events surrounding Chernobyl. “The Battle of Chernobyl” — 2006 documen- tary film. The film reviews the series of events surrounding the disaster and explores the effects of radiation on the liquidators who were sent to clean up. Alexievich, Svetlana. Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster. Pica- dor, 2006. Kostin, Igor. Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter. Umbridge Editions, 2006. The Ferris wheel in the abandoned town of Pripyat is a recognizable symbol of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. More resources for USEFUL educators are available LINKS on the Henry M. Jackson School of International CIA World Factbook: Ukraine Studies website. BBC Country Page: Ukraine National Geographic: Ukraine CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES .
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