Chernobyl Disaster

On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 in the morning, reactor number four in the Chernobyl, Ukraine nuclear power plant suffered a melt down which ultimately resulted in the worst man - made disaster in history.

Nearly twenty-five years later, the people and environment of Eastern Europe are still living with the after effects of this devastating event.

The Beginning of the End Plant workers were conducting a test in reactor number four, when uranium fuel overheated and melted through the protective barrier of the reactor causing an explosion. Amazingly enough, the initial explosion only killed two workers.

As soon as the reactor blew open, radioactive elements such as plutonium and iodine were released in a plume of smoke into the air. Wind picked up this radiation and blew it across Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and parts of western Europe.

At the time of this disaster, Chernobyl was still under the control of the Soviet Union (now Russia) or USSR. This Communist government was reluctant to admit that they ever had a serious problem - much less a serious nuclear problem at Chernobyl. So they “down-played” the catastrophe. Instead of evacuating citizens and alerting neighboring countries of the potential harm, the Soviet government sent in local firemen to put out the fire. The firemen were not even told that radiation had been released into the atmosphere.

Bridge of Death Three miles from the plant, lay the city of Pripyat (population 49,369). Hearing the explosion during the early morning hours on April 26, scores of citizens rushed toward the plant to see what was going on. Many of them stopped at a bridge where they had a good view of the plant just 1.3 miles away. Little did they know they were standing in the pathway of poisonous radiation escaping from the destroyed reactor. Later scientist estimated the level of contamination on that bridge to be eight times higher than the amount needed to kill a person. Today this bridge is known world- wide as the Bridge Of Death. No one knows for certain how many citizens of Pripyat died as a result of standing here on that fateful morning.

Hush! Hush! Realizing they had a full-blown nuclear catastrophe on their hands, the Soviet authorities told the people of Pripyat to stay inside their homes until daylight. The next morning the townspeople and everyone within a twenty mile radius are evacuated. Soldiers are brought in to hastily construct a fence around the perimeter of the town and plant. The area inside the fence quickly became known as the Dead Zone. More than two days had passed since the explosion, and still the Soviet government made no attempt to communicate what was happening to the rest of the world in a vain hope that it would remain a state secret.

Meanwhile Back at the Plant... At least 28 firemen lost their lives in those first few hours at the site – some dying horrific deaths due to radiation poisoning. Most of the immediate survivors would die in just a few short years later of cancer and other radiation related illnesses.

Secret’s Out By April 28 th, scientists in Sweden began picking up radioactive material in the atmosphere and sent out a world wide alert that something was badly wrong. When directly confronted by other European countries, the Soviet government finally admitted they were having some “difficulty” at their Chernobyl plant. But it was too late for anyone to believe them as radiation levels all over the rest of Europe told the real story. It didn’t take scientists long to realize that over 100 types of radioactive material had been released into the environment and was threatening nearly all of Europe. Eventually radioactive fall-out from Chernobyl would spread to nearly every continent on Earth.

The Real Heroes While the news of the devastating accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant was slowly trickling out to a shocked world, crew after crew of plant employees, fire-fighters, soldiers, scientists and construction workers descended on the “Dead Zone” to deal with the aftermath of the reactor explosion. While a few of these men were volunteers, most were drafted by the government with promises of free health care for life, better apartments for their families and new cars.

In all over 600,000 workers, known as “Liquidators,” came to clean up the plant sites over the next few years. They were charged with clearing rubble from the area of the explosion as well as with constructing a concrete shell, called a sarcophagus, around the reactor complex in an effort to contain radiation. There is little doubt that their self-sacrificing work helped to prevent the further spread of radioactive materials. All of these Liquidators were exposed to high levels of radiation, and many have either died or suffered illnesses as a result of their exposure. Sadly, when the Soviet government dissolved, so did their promises of free health care to the Liquidators. Today most of them are in their 40’s & 50’s and suffer many health problems caused by their time cleaning up debris at Chernobyl. They are perhaps the only heroes of Chernobyl. Sarcophagus built by Liquidators Equipment Used By Liquidators Now Contaminated & Abandoned

Pripyat While the Liquidators struggled to contain the radiation contamination at the plant site, evacuated citizens of the nearby city of Pripyat, were struggling to find new homes and jobs away from the Dead Zone. Twenty years later, the city of Pripyat remains unoccupied and deserted – a modern day ghost town - until recently visited only by a few photographers and scientist brave enough to expose themselves to radiation.

Environmental Impact Plumes of radioactive material blew north from Chernobyl into Belarus contaminating all woodlands and waterways in its path. One particularly hard hit patch of woods came to be known as the Red Forest for its distinctive color left by the scorching radiation. Oddly enough, bodies of water such as streams and lakes and the animals that live in them, were not as badly affected by the radiation as the forest animals, the forest and the soil found there. Red Forest starting to regenerate, but the area is still contaminated & unsafe for both animals and humans. Only scientists are allowed in the forest.

But it wasn’t only the plants that suffered. As the radiation blew across Europe, it settled on grass and in the soil where it was often ingested (eaten) by animals. Sheep as far away as the U.K. were found to have elevated levels of radiation and had to be monitored. Milk from cows that had eaten contaminated grass had to be destroyed for years. Mushrooms and berries growing in forests as far away as Sweden were found to be radioactive and unfit for consumption. Twenty-three years later, humans are still forbidden to eat any food grown in areas near Chernobyl. Sadly, in the years immediately following the explosion, there was a sharp rise in the number deformed animals born throughout the region. Deformed Flower

The Greatest Tragedy The greatest tragedy of Chernobyl is the legacy of sickness, disease and deformity it left with the children. Hundreds of children exposed to the radiation have developed cancer and other radiation related illnesses. Hundreds more children were born malformed due to the radiation exposure of their parents. Children in a cancer hospital. Children born mentally impaired. Child with severe malformation.

Chernobyl... An Ongoing Tragedy No one knows for sure exactly how many lives have been lost, how many animals killed, how many acres of land contaminated, how many homes destroyed and how many people’s lives totally changed forever due to the explosion at Chernobyl. What we do know, is that the tragedy is on-going. Twenty-three years later, the suffering for both humans and the environment still continues and will likely continue for many years to come.