The Fatal Experiment of Chernobyl and its Long-Term Consequences

The fatal experiment of Chernobyl, Ukraine, took place on April 25,1985, with which it was examined whether the turbines could still supply enough electricity to ensure the emergency cooling, or not. In order to let the experiment take place under realistic circumstances, the emergency program was shut off. The emergency program was responsible for the emergency cooling, and to bring in the nuclear fuel rods. For some reasons, the time for the experiment changed in short notice, so that the unprepared night shift on April 26 took over the execution of an experiment, whose experimental assembly had made the reactor unprotected. By an operating error of the inexperienced reactor operator, Leonid Thuptunow, the reactor power dropped shortly before the beginning of the experiment. The operator took out some of the control rods, (where the atomic nuclear chain reaction can be controlled) and fell below the permissible minimum border of 28 control rods. Thus, the reactor was still more difficult to control, and in a dangerous safety condition. The deputy chief engineer of the power station, Anatolij Djatlow, nevertheless instructed the beginning of the experiment. The operators activated too many cooling pumps, so that the reactor, working with little capacity, could not evaporate the water flowing around it any longer. The water began to boil, and first hydraulic impacts were heard. The shift leader wanted to stop the experiment immediately, but Djatlow made them continue and spoke the historic words: “Just one, or two minutes and it will be over. Somewhat more flexibility, gentlemen.” Around two minutes after his announcement, a powerful detonating gas explosion tore up the reactor, and everything surrounding it. A large part of radioactive reactor contents was set free. Glowing parts ignited the tar roofing of the reactor next to it. Only the heroic dedication of firefighters and power plant coworkers prevented a bigger disaster that night. On this night, two men were killed by the detonation, and another 28 men died in the next two weeks of the disaster, due to the enormous radiation they were exposed to. Up to 600,000 to 1.2 million volunteers (liquidators) came to the decontaminated power plant, and put a “sarkopharg” on it. The “sarkopharg” enclosed the detonated reactor 4, and kept the radiation in the inside. Based on the evidence at hand, the government ordered the evacuation of Prybat, a city next to the power plant. The evacuation began on April 27, one day after the detonation of Chernobyl. In order to expedite the evacuation, the residents were told to bring only what is necessary for three days. As a result, most of the residents left their personal belongings, which are still there today. An exclusion zone of 30 kilometers remains in place today. The fatal accident of Chernobyl happened 25 years ago, the liquidators, and people who lived close to the power plant, still have to fight against the long-term consequences of the disaster. Recent Russian researches state, that ninety percent of the liquidators are disabled now, which is a total of up to 120,000 men. The liquidators are sick above average at different cancer conditions, for instance leukemia, somatic and psychological illnesses, and cataracts. Due to the long latency period, critics are expecting an increase in cancer illness. The long-term forecast to the year 2011 states that to the year of 2011, 100,000 of the liquidators will be dead. After the disaster of Chernobyl the infant mortality increased in several European countries. The research named “Chernobyl-caused infant mortality” states 5,000 deaths. Another consequence of the Chernobyl disaster is the increase of thyroid cancer. Researches in Belarus show, that 10,000 people came down with thyroid cancer after the disaster. The region still has the highest thyroid cancer rate worldwide, with an increasing tendency. Not only are humans and animals suffering of nuclear caused illnesses, the economy, and the habitat is destroyed. “The environmental damage was widespread immediately following the accident, from fauna and vegetation, to rivers and lakes, and the groundwater. The extend of the damage led scientists and government officials to the conclusion that the Chernobyl exclusion had been subjected to enough radioactive fallout to severely alter the ecological balance of the region for decades.” (Flanary, 2008) An example of the beyond belief dimension of destruction that radioactivity causes, is the “red forest”. The “red forest” is a wood, about two kilometers away from Chernobyl. The trees colored themselves red after the detonation, and died after the misfortune. This accident showed us, how dangerous our electricity production is. Unfortunately we have seen a blow-out, which measures at least the same destruction like Chernobyl, in Japan, just a few weeks ago. I hope that disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima makes people rethink about alternative resources.

Flanary, W. (2008, 12 15). www.eoearth.com. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/article/Environmental_effects_of_the_Chernobyl_accident