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The '''Chernobyl disaster'''{{efn|Sometimes spelled as the '''Chornobyl disaster''' because of the Ukrainian name for Chernobyl. Russian: Авария на Чернобыльской АЭС. Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа.}} began on 26 April 1986 with the explosion of the No. 4 [[nuclear reactor|reactor]] of the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], near the city of [[Pripyat]] in the north of the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], close to the border with the [[Byelorussian SSR]], in the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accident of 1986 |url=https://chnpp.gov.ua/en/about/history-of-the-chnpp/accident-of-1986 |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=Chornobyl NPP}}</ref> It is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at seven—the maximum severity—on the [[International Nuclear Event Scale]], the other being the 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] in [[Japan]]. The initial emergency response and subsequent mitigation efforts involved more than [[Chernobyl liquidators|500,000 personnel]] and cost an estimated 18{{nbsp}}billion [[Soviet rouble|rouble]]s—roughly US$68{{nbsp}}billion in 2019, adjusted for inflation.<ref name="OECD02-Ch2">{{cite web |year=2002 |title=Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impact, 2002 update; Chapter II – The release, dispersion and deposition of radionuclides |url=https://www.oecd-nea.org/rp/reports/2003/nea3508-chernobyl.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622010856/https://www.oecd-nea.org/rp/reports/2003/nea3508-chernobyl.pdf |archive-date=22 June 2015 |access-date=3 June 2015 |publisher=OECD-NEA}}</ref> It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Chornobyl Accident |url=https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/areas-of-work/chernobyl.html |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=United Nations : Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-01 |title=A Brief History of Nuclear Accidents Worldwide |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/brief-history-nuclear-accidents-worldwide |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=www.ucsusa.org |language=en}}</ref>
The accident occurred during a test of the steam turbine's ability to power the emergency feedwater pumps in the event of a simultaneous loss of external power and coolant pipe rupture. Following an accidental drop in reactor power to near-zero, the operators restarted the reactor in preparation for the turbine test with a prohibited control rod configuration. Upon successful completion of the test, the reactor was then shut down for maintenance. Due to a variety of factors, this action resulted in a power surge at the base of the reactor which brought about the rupture of reactor components and the loss of coolant. This process led to steam explosions and a [[Nuclear meltdown|meltdown]], which destroyed the containment building. This was followed by a reactor core fire which lasted until 4 May 1986, during which airborne [[radioactive contamination|radioactive contaminants]] were spread throughout the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] and Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCall|first=Chris|date=April 2016|title=Chernobyl disaster 30 years on: lessons not learned|journal=The Lancet|volume=387|issue=10029|pages=1707–1708|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30304-x|pmid=27116266|s2cid=39494685|issn=0140-6736}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Chernobyl-Born Radionuclides in Geological Environment|date=2014|pages=25–38|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc|isbn=978-1-118-96222-0|doi=10.1002/9781118962220.ch2|title=Groundwater Vulnerability|series=Special Publications}}</ref> In response to the initial accident, a {{convert|10|km|mi|adj=on}} radius [[Chernobyl Exclusion Zone|exclusion zone]] was created 36 hours after the accident, from which approximately 49,000 people were evacuated, primarily from [[Pripyat]]. The exclusion zone was later increased to a radius of {{convert|30|km}}, from which an additional ~68,000 people were evacuated.<ref name="Nuclear Disasters pp 55">{{cite book |title=Nuclear Disasters & The Built Environment: A Report to the Royal Institute |last1=Steadman |first1=Philip |last2=Hodgkinson |first2=Simon |date=1990 |publisher=Butterworth Architecture |isbn=978-0-40850-061-6 |page=55}}</ref>
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