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    007.LV9.Famous Disasters - Chernobyl 1986

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    007.LV9.Famous Disasters - Chernobyl 1986

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    007.LV9.Famous Disasters - Chernobyl 1986

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    tg.vudiepanh

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    Level 9

    Level 9

    Famous Disasters: Famous Disasters:


    Chernobyl 1986 Chernobyl 1986

    Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.


    All rights reserved.
    The Invisible Disaster The next morning

    I n 1986 the town of Pripyat, in what is now Ukraine, was


    a thriving community with good schools and the first real
    residents grew more
    alarmed when it was
    supermarket in the country. Its residents, who were mostly announced by radio
    employed at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear plant, took great that Pripyat had to be
    pride in their flourishing town. evacuated. Worries
    But on the morning of Saturday, April 26, the people mounted when military
    Workers with masks
    of Pripyat awoke on their way to the disaster site men appeared on the
    to startling news: streets, wearing face masks and rinsing the ground with
    a section of the white powder. Soon a long line of nearly two thousand buses
    Chernobyl plant had arrived to take the residents away. The people of Pripyat
    exploded during assumed they’d be back in a few days, and so they left
    the night. Although behind most of their belongings.
    the residents were What lurked in the streets of Pripyat? What invisible
    concerned about The unclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine threat forced its residents to leave their homes and never
    the plant, they continued with their activities as if it were an return?
    ordinary day. Adults ran errands and strolled outdoors in the
    sunshine; children rode bikes and played in the streets. Some A Nuclear Accident
    people gathered on balconies, trying to catch a better glimpse The explosion at the Chernobyl power plant was the
    of the strange, reddish glow coming from the plant. Many worst nuclear accident in history. At the plant, machines
    even described the glow as beautiful. Few were aware that called nuclear reactors were used to break apart uranium,
    the unusual color was actually a sign of danger—a danger releasing large amounts of energy. The energy was then used
    that was about to change their lives forever. to make electricity. But this process also produced radiation,

    1 2
    which has no taste or smell and cannot be seen by the human The Chernobylites
    eye. If radiation is not properly contained or controlled, Immediately after the
    it can spread rapidly through the environment, damaging explosion, workers from
    tissues and cells and making people and other living things surrounding areas flooded
    very sick. in to control the disaster at
    A section of the Chernobyl nuclear plant blew up after a the plant. These men, called
    safety test went wrong. The accident released a huge amount liquidators, worked for only
    of this radiation into the atmosphere, creating the eerie glow short amounts of time, trying
    seen from Pripyat. The fallout settled thickly over Ukraine to minimize their exposure.
    as well as over Belarus and Russia, contaminating streets, But some later said they
    buildings, fields, forests, and bodies of water. Winds blew tasted metal and felt prickly
    A monument to the liquidators
    more of the radioactive material over central and northern sensations. After the cleanup, in Chernobyl

    Europe. hundreds of these men were hospitalized. Many suffered


    At the time many farms from radiation sickness that caused severe vomiting and
    in Ukraine produced dairy sometimes death. Most of the workers who survived still
    products as well as vegetables, suffer from chronic health problems.
    grains, and meat. These food The thousands of people who had to leave their
    products quickly absorbed homes and possessions endured more hardships too. The
    the fallout, exposing many Chernobylites—as they began to call themselves—faced
    people to dangerous levels discrimination from those who thought radiation could be
    Radiation in food threatened
    of radiation. Governments people’s health as well. contagious. In their new schools, relocated children were
    around the world had to ban certain foods in order to ensure made fun of and excluded. One woman recalled how her son
    people’s safety. returned home from school in tears. No one wanted to sit

    3 4
    next to him in class because he was “radioactive.” problems. In parts of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, children
    were born with abnormal body parts and life-threatening
    Assessing the Damage diseases. Mental health problems
    It is estimated that such as depression and anxiety
    over 300,000 people have been especially troublesome.
    across Europe were Many feel as though Chernobyl
    forced to relocate as has filled their lives with a sense of
    a result of Chernobyl. doom; they live in constant fear for
    The universal sign for
    Millions continue to dangerous radiation the health of their family members.
    suffer from cancer, Many buildings and homes were abandoned.

    physical handicaps, financial hardship, and psychological Nuclear Energy: A Controversy


    trauma. The Chernobyl disaster has led to a lot of controversy
    Experts are still determining the extent of the damage. about nuclear energy. Those who support the use of nuclear
    The government of the Soviet Union, criticized for both its power argue that it’s more efficient than other energy sources
    secrecy about the accident and its slow response in places since it produces huge amounts of energy. And, unlike coal
    like Pripyat, reported that about thirty people had died. But power plants, nuclear plants don’t pollute the atmosphere.
    many scientists believe that the total number of deaths was Still, because of concerns about the environment and
    actually much higher—and will continue to rise. They point people’s health, others protest its use. They fear that a
    in particular to a sharp increase in cancer rates in the affected catastrophe like Chernobyl will be repeated, and point out
    areas, with thyroid cancer, once a rare disease, affecting another big problem with nuclear energy: its waste remains
    children in large and alarming numbers. radioactive for thousands of years, and there is no easy way
    There is also evidence that the radiation from Chernobyl to dispose of it.
    caused birth defects, heart diseases, and other health The accident at the Chernobyl plant has led to better

    5 6
    safety practices at nuclear power plants, along with But the world’s worst environmental disaster has also
    construction of better equipment. But debates about turned into an environmental miracle. After the towns
    nuclear energy are likely to continue for many years. And in the exclusion zone were abandoned, grass and weeds
    the disaster at Chernobyl, with its millions of victims, is a slowly began covering buildings and streets. Trees sprang
    chilling reminder of the dangers involved. up everywhere. Today people regularly spot birds and
    other animals such as wolves, horses, and moose. To
    An Environmental Miracle everyone’s amazement the
    Today Pripyat is a radioactive area around
    ghost town, empty except Chernobyl is now one of
    for abandoned buildings Europe’s largest wildlife
    and possessions left behind sanctuaries—a wilderness
    People have even begun spotting
    by former residents. Inside wolves in Pripyat. blooming with new life.
    homes calendar pages are
    still open to April 1986. Toys,
    Toys left in an abandoned schoolroom
    clothes, and photographs still in Pripyat

    lay scattered across floors. It is as though the entire town has


    been frozen in time.
    The Chernobyl plant is now encased in concrete, and
    the last reactor at the plant was shut down in 2000. The
    area around the plant is known as the exclusion zone, and
    radioactivity lingers there, in fields, forests, and deserted
    towns. Experts are unsure of how long it will take for this
    zone to become fully safe again.

    7 8
    Photo Credits

    The photo of covers: 2005 Stefan Kühn. Some rights reserved.


    Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share
    Alike 3.0 License.

    The photo of page 1: 2006 Carl Montgomery. Some rights reserved.


    Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share
    Alike 2.0 License.

    The photo of page 2: 1986 Lu Taskey. Some rights reserved.


    Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share
    Alike 2.5 License.

    The photo of page 3: © Photooasis/Dreamstime.com

    The photo of page 4: © Lindsay Fincher

    The photo of page 5: © Sergeyussr/Dreamstime.com

    The photo of page 7: © Andriy Bezuglov/Dreamstime.com

    The photo of page 8: © Salazkin Vladimir/Dreamstime.com

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