The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and it is the only one classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
But it's OK, because all that really happened is a few dozen people died in the explosion and fire, several thousand children had their thyroids cut out, and farmers across much of eastern Europe got an extended vacation.
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With the current nuclear power plant kerfuffle1 in Japan, people are making comparisons with a TMI-Chernobyl scale, with TMI being a nuclear accident that is not bad at all2 and Chernobyl being the worst case scenario.3 This is actually very reassuring, because Chernobyl was really no big deal.4…
The most significant news seems to be the raising of the level of this accident, on the international scale of how bad things get at nuclear power plants, to the highest level, which is also the level set for the Chernobyl accident. This does not mean that the Fukushima Disaster is the same as the…
The reactors at Fukushima continue to be hotter than "cold shutdown" levels, and at least one reactor (#1) is probably leaking from the core containment vessel. Fission products in high amounts, high pressure, and high temperature indicate that something close to fission is still happening…
Despite the deafening silence from TEPCO regarding questions over a physical breech in Reactor 2, it is now generally being considered that there is a breech in reactor 2. It is not clear if it is a hole in the containment vessel of some kind or just some disconnected or cracked pipes. Experts…
One of my grad school statistics professors and his wife were on a tour of Russia when this happened. Their group happened to be staying fairly close to the area. They found out about it the morning after when CBS called the hotel and asked to speak to the tour leader. "What is being done locally to protect people from the nuclear reactor explosion?" was the first question. "Er, what nuclear reactor explosion. I may have to get back to you." was the response of the guide. The folks at the hotel hadn't heard anything either.
luv the sarcasim...
Read: 'The Woman Who Knew Too Much, Alice Stewart and the Secrets of Radiation' by Gale Greene, ISBN 0-472-11107-8.
[ http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=16783 ]
âThe Other Report on Chernobyl (TORCH)â?
[ http://www.nirs.org/c20/torch.pdf ]