Chernobyl Explodes into the News
4/26/1986
Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant ran a test of the reactor and the test went wrong. I'm not a physicist so this is a simplified version of the events.
There was an increase in power that lead to explosions. These explosions possibly spread nuclear contaminants as far as Wales. On April 25th, not many knew the history of this town in the Ukraine near Belarus. It would become a symbol of the dangers of nuclear energy.
Chernobyl was chartered in 1193. In 1569, it became part of Poland until 1793 when it was annexed by Russia. It stayed part of the Soviet Union there after.
Before a massive evacuation started after the 1986 explosion, there were 140,000 people living there. Sixty-eight thousand people were evacuated right away. In the aftermath, there were 31 deaths, two local citizens and 29 firemen. According to history.com, Russia tried to cover up the effects, but when they had to tell other countries, there could be no cover up. Sweden wouldn’t allow it.
The fire was extinguished by dropping sand, lead, clay and Boron into the area.
This happened over 21 years ago and scientists are still studying the effects of the explosion and cancer cases. There are residents living there now and new plant life has grown. There are groups available who are active in following up the explosion.
The town is still monitored by health agencies and charities. The United Nations Development Program was started in 2003 and works out of the Ukraine in economic and ecological matters. There is the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and Chernobyl Children International.
The links can be found on the web.