Joshua Cruz

Third period
March 25, 2019
The Chernobyl disaster
 A horrific incident occurred within the Russian boundaries that affected the lives of

thousands, obtaining the name The Chernobyl Disaster. The classification of this disaster entails

the matter of the fairly new process in human history, called nuclear fission, which origin dates

back to the discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics.

Nuclear fission a process that was started by two German scientist Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch

and their work has been further improved upon to the point of the creation of an alternative

energy source (“Outline History of Nuclear Energy”). In the process of nuclear fission, a

radioactive element, usually uranium-235, is subdivided into two parts of lighter nuclei from the

original, heavier, nuclei. The product of this process is radioactive material and the release

neurons. As a result, these neurons can bounce around starting fission in other elements capable

of fission, creating a chain reaction leading to an abundance of energy. This chain reaction is a

major benefit to the process of nuclear fission thus making it such a beneficial way to gain

energy, for once it is started it continues for a substantial amount of time(Steinberg 1). While the

preparation for this reaction takes several protocols and resources to ensure a safe creation of this

alternative energy, it has been quoted by many as the future of production of electricity. One

might come to the conclusion that this innovation is revolutionary and a great alternative energy

source for today's society, but evidently, the process has many risk factors that cause it to

become less favorable. One risk, in particular, is the ever-looming possibility of a fatal nuclear

meltdown, the result of overheating because of the loss or slowing of coolant factor in a nuclear

plant. In return, the reactor burns out of control spilling radioactive material to its surrounding

areas. The Chernobyl disaster was a direct result of the tragic meltdown of the Chernobyl power

plant in 1986 (“Chernobyl Accident 1986.”).

miles away from Chernobyl in the settlement of Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

This area of Ukraine is considered a low density of population, which is beneficial in case of an

accident. Still, within a 30 square mile radius, the population marked on average 115,000 people.

When Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union the country embarked to obtain the “elixir of

energy”, Nuclear energy, by constructing of Units 1 and 2, Power plants between 1970 and 1977

and Units 3 and 4 which were completed in 1983. In addition to the plant, for safety measures, an

artificial lake, about 22 kilometers squared, was created for a water source as a coolant for the

nuclear plants(“Chernobyl”). As mentioned before, the coolant of a nuclear power plan is a

substantial necessity to any working nuclear energy center, thus its importance ranks very highly.

The reactors were based on the Soviet RBMK-1000 nuclear power plant model, RBMK standing

for “reaktor bolshoy moshchnosty kanalny”, or high power channel reactor. This reactor is a light

water graphite reactor, which is found nowhere else in the world. The fuel required for this

reactor is enriched oxide pellets that are enclosed in a zircaloy tube, a very strong alloy tube,

forming the commonly known fuel rods. The plant used uranium-235, the element commonly

used for nuclear fission. Water surrounded pressure tubes that held the fuel rods in order to allow

for control of the fuel from overheating, for water from the lake positioned by the nuclear plant

acted as the coolant agent. The coolant, water runs past the fuel cells from two separate sides run

by 4 individual pumps and comes out at the temperature of about 290 Celsius. The reactors

infrastructure was contained by a concrete shield that acted as a radiation shield(“Chernobyl

Accident 1986.”). The building project was finished in 1983 and with the completion of the

reactors, they began producing power for the surrounding town and cities. Ukraine had planned
to add two more plants in the coming year to provide more power for the country if operations

ran smoothly, but inevitably these plans were further shut down due to the unforeseen risks that

came to be about(“Chernobyl”).

The Meltdown of the Chernobyl Plants caused a multitude of reactions and consequences

that still affect the world and its encompassed history today. The very essence of the thought of a

nuclear meltdown with the involvement of any nuclear technology provides a further meticulous,

evaluation within the minds and plans of humanity when dealing with such matters, but the

actual materialization of a nuclear disaster, when set upon the hands of men, enacts a great deal

of fearfulness, adequate questioning and plans to further resolve any future incidents. The

meltdown in Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, of the Chernobyl plant occurred

within a short and unexpected time. The cause of this meltdown was a routine check that took a

disastrous turn for the worse causing two massive explosions(“Chernobyl”). Mechanics

disableds the automatic shut down that occurs when a threat of a nuclear meltdown comes in

place and during that time period, the reactor was provided a lower amount of power than

normal(Marples). It occurred on April 25, when a crew at Unit four stated testing to determine

the length of time the turbines would spin and supply power to the main circulating pumps after

the initial loss of the main electrical supply. Although these test had been tried throughout the

years, this test had factors that led to its differences including the disabling of the automatic shut

off and the different number of voltage used. On April 26 the operator shut down the reactor, for

it was highly unstable, but the design of the reactor led to a power surge as control rods were

inserted back into the reactor(“Chernobyl Accident 1986.”). The reactor began unstable led to

the overproduction of steam increasing the pressure thus blowing off a 1,000 ton, or 907.18474
metric ton roof off one of the reactors(“Chernobyl”). This led to the jamming of control rods

leading to the build-up of more excess steam, thus to multiple steam explosions(“Chernobyl

Accident 1986”). The explosions initiated the dispersal of radioactive material (approximately

400 times more than Hiroshima) into the environment and atmosphere(“Chernobyl”). This is the

infamous meltdown that occurred at the Chernobyl plant and the results that followed were

devastating.

Approximately 100,000 square miles were covered by the accident radioactive

contaminants covering territories of Belarus, Ukraine and some of the Russian Federation (size

similar to that of the State of Kentucky). The initial explosion led to a graphite fire that could

only be contained by the spreading of sand and boron(Marples). The first responders including a

substantial number of firefighters came on the scene and described the, at first unknown,

radiation as “tasting like metal” and the feeling of pain. The fire had taken two weeks to subdue

with the sand, boron, and the addition of nitrogen and lead. Subsequently, many of the first

responders died due to this high concentration of radiation they were exposed to(“Chernobyl”).

During this time the inhabitants of Pripyat(with the population of 45,000), and smaller

surrounding settlements were rushed out of the area as an act of evacuation due to the spread of

the radiation via air and land. Although it was thought that the radiation only spilled to

surrounding countries shifting wind current blew the radiation to countries as far as the United

Kingdom and Germany (Marples). The nuclear meltdown led to the dispersal of radioactive

materials such as “strontium-90, which has a radioactive half-life of twenty-nine years,

cesium-137, with a half-life of thirty years; and iodine-131, which has a half-life of eight days”

(a half-life is the amount of time in which an atom returns to its original isotope or commonly
known as a stable state)("Alps Still Contaminated by Radiation from Chernobyl."). The Soviet

Union kept quiet about the ordeal until Swedish leaders demanded answers after the findings of

unusually high concentration of radiation near a Swedish power plant. Then the news of the

event began to spread to the world(“Chernobyl”). The radiation was contained by many workers

and thousands died from acute radiation posing Ukraine issued a figure of 125,000 people died

as a direct result of the incident of Chernobyl. The surrounding areas saw an increase of thyroid

gland cancer among children and it was connected to the effects of the Chernobyl

radiation("Alps Still Contaminated by Radiation from Chernobyl."). Chernobyl left behind a

770-mile wide area called the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone where it is not safe for human

inhabitants, but surprisingly animals continue to thrive due to the lack of human

interference(“Chernobyl”). Life has become a struggle for many of the populous due to the

underlying worry and constant threats of cancer and defects in people, radioactive water and

food and physiological issues presented by this incident. Rates of birth defects rose 250 percent

and cancer in children and adults grew greatly depending on the area because of the nuclear

meltdown("Alps Still Contaminated by Radiation from Chernobyl.").

Upon this information about the Chernobyl meltdown, one could argue that nuclear

power is unstable and should be banned for the numerous health and environmental dangers it

poses. Nuclear power is an energy source that should be improved upon not rejected for the

failures it has presented. If the scientific world worked by rejecting methods that had negative

results most of our technology would no longer be here. Scientific evaluation and improvement

had to be done in order to improve upon mistakes to better humanity's work to its fullest

potential. The disaster should be enacted upon by in the future improving both the safety of
nuclear plants and the explorations of radiation leakage preventives. The preservation of this

knowledge needs to be taken up as well as the education of others on the disaster. One should see

the negative historical events as preventatives for the future so humanity can enact upon action

that ends in a better course of results.

I would like to formally thank Mrs. Halfmann, the head of the science division at Brenham High

School, for her unwavering patience and wise guidance towards a bettering of myself and my

paper. I would like to thank my parents, John Paul and Rebecca Cruz for teaching me life values

that enabled me to strive through hard and difficult situations that I encountered during this

tedious researching process. I would like to thank every scientist, research, and editor that

allowed for the my papers organization and information to be accurate and sharp. Finally, I

would like to thank myself for constantly pushing myself to go further, to go the extra mile to

achieve a well written research paper.

“Outline History of Nuclear Energy.” ​Nuclear Power in Canada - World Nuclear

Association,​ www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/outline-hi

story-of-nuclear-energy.aspx.

Steinberg, Ellis P. “Nuclear Fission.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 21 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/nuclear-fission/Introduction.

“Chernobyl Accident 1986.” Nuclear Power in Canada - World Nuclear Association,

www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accid

ent.aspx.

Editors, History.com. “Chernobyl.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 24 Apr.

2018, www.history.com/topics/1980s/chernobyl.

Hard Copies (destiny)

MARPLES, DAVID R. "Chernobyl." Encyclopedia of Russian History, edited by James

R. Millar, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2004, pp. 238-240. World History in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3404100237/WHIC?u=j239901001&sid=WHIC&xid=81

7872d4. Accessed 4 Feb. 2019.

"Alps Still Contaminated by Radiation from Chernobyl." ​Medicine, Health, and

Bioethics: Essential Primary Sources​, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner,

Gale, 2006, pp. 343-346. ​World History in Context,​

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3456500131/WHIC?u=j239901001&sid=WHIC&xid=9a

27a9d6. Accessed 4 Feb. 2019.