Warm-Up

What caused the “Great Smog of 1952” in

the United Kingdom?

• Coal Burning Factories and Trains • Soot from chimneys and cars mixing

with water in the atmosphere. • Wind wasn’t moving

Chernobyl

Disaster

On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 in the morning, reactor number four in the Chernobyl,

Ukraine nuclear power plant suffered a melt down which ultimately resulted in the

worst man - made disaster in history.

Nearly twenty-five years later, the people and environment of Eastern Europe are still living

with the after effects of this devastating event.

The Beginning of the End

Plant workers were conducting a test in

reactor number four, when uranium fuel

overheated and melted through the protective barrier of the reactor causing

an explosion. Amazingly enough, the initial explosion

only killed two workers.

As soon as the reactor blew open,

radioactive elements such as plutonium and iodine were released in a plume of smoke

into the air. Wind picked up this

radiation and blew it across Ukraine,

Belarus, Russia and parts of western

Europe.

At the time of this disaster, Chernobyl was still under the control of the Soviet Union

(now Russia) or USSR. This Communist government was reluctant to admit that they ever had a serious problem - much

less a serious nuclear problem at Chernobyl. So they “down-played” the

catastrophe.

Instead of evacuating citizens and alerting neighboring countries of the potential

harm, the Soviet government sent in local firemen to put out the fire. The firemen were not even told that radiation had

been released into the atmosphere.

Bridge of Death Three miles from the plant, lay the city of Pripyat (population 49,369). Hearing the

explosion during the early morning hours on April 26, scores of citizens rushed

toward the plant to see what was going on. Many of them stopped at a bridge

where they had a good view of the plant just 1.3 miles away. Little did they know they were standing in the pathway of poisonous radiation escaping from the

destroyed reactor. Later scientist estimated the level of contamination on that bridge to be eight times higher than

the amount needed to kill a person.

Today this bridge is known world-

wide as the Bridge Of Death. No one knows for certain

how many citizens of Pripyat died as a result

of standing here on that fateful morning.

Hush! Hush!

Realizing they had a full-blown nuclear catastrophe on their hands, the Soviet authorities told the people of

Pripyat to stay inside their homes until daylight. The next morning the townspeople and everyone within a twenty

mile radius are evacuated. Soldiers are brought in to hastily construct a fence around the perimeter of the

town and plant. The area inside the fence quickly became known as the Dead Zone.

More than two days had passed since the explosion, and still the Soviet government made no attempt to

communicate what was happening to the rest of the world in a vain hope that it would remain a state secret.

Meanwhile Back at the Plant . . .

At least 28 firemen lost their lives in

those first few hours at the site – some

dying horrific deaths due to radiation

poisoning. Most of the immediate

survivors would die in just a few short

years later of cancer and other

radiation related illnesses.

Secret’s Out

By April 28th, scientists in Sweden began picking up radioactive material in the

atmosphere and sent out a world wide alert that something was badly wrong. When directly

confronted by other European countries, the Soviet government finally admitted they were

having some “difficulty” at their Chernobyl plant. But it was too late for anyone to believe them as radiation levels all over the rest of Europe told the real story. It didn’t take scientists long to

realize that over 100 types of radioactive material had been released into the

environment and was threatening nearly all of Europe.

Eventually radioactive

fall-out from Chernobyl

would spread to

nearly every continent on

Earth.

The Real Heroes

While the news of the devastating accident at the

Chernobyl nuclear plant was slowly trickling out to a shocked world, crew after crew of plant

employees, fire-fighters, soldiers, scientists and construction workers descended on the “Dead Zone” to deal with the aftermath of the reactor

explosion. While a few of these men were volunteers, most were drafted by the

government with promises of free health care for life, better apartments for their families and

new cars.

In all over 600,000 workers, known as “Liquidators,” came to clean up the plant sites over the next few years. They were charged with clearing rubble from the area of the explosion as well as with constructing a concrete shell, called a sarcophagus, around the reactor complex in an effort to contain radiation. There is little doubt that their self-sacrificing work helped to prevent the further spread of radioactive materials. All of these Liquidators were exposed to high levels of radiation, and many have either died or suffered illnesses as a result of their exposure. Sadly, when the Soviet government dissolved, so did their promises of free health care to the Liquidators. Today most of them are in their 40’s & 50’s and suffer many health problems caused by their time cleaning up debris at Chernobyl. They are perhaps the only heroes of Chernobyl.

Sarcophagus built by Liquidators

Equipment Used By Liquidators Now Contaminated & Abandoned

Pripyat While the Liquidators struggled to contain the radiation

contamination at the plant site, evacuated citizens of the nearby city of Pripyat, were struggling to find new homes and jobs away from

the Dead Zone. Twenty years later, the city of Pripyat remains unoccupied and deserted – a modern day ghost town - until recently visited only by a few photographers and scientist brave enough to

expose themselves to radiation.

Environmental Impact

Plumes of radioactive material blew north from Chernobyl into Belarus contaminating all woodlands and waterways in its path. One

particularly hard hit patch of woods came to be known as the Red Forest for its distinctive color left by the scorching radiation.

Oddly enough, bodies of water such as streams and lakes and the animals that live in them, were not as badly affected by the radiation

as the forest animals, the forest and the soil found there.

Red Forest starting to regenerate, but the area is still contaminated & unsafe for both animals and humans. Only scientists are allowed in the

forest.

But it wasn’t only the plants that suffered. As the radiation blew across Europe, it settled on grass and

in the soil where it was often ingested (eaten) by animals. Sheep as far away as the U.K. were found to have elevated levels of radiation and had to be

monitored. Milk from cows that had eaten contaminated grass had to be destroyed for years. Mushrooms and berries growing in forests as far

away as Sweden were found to be radioactive and unfit for consumption. Twenty-three years later,

humans are still forbidden to eat any food grown in areas near Chernobyl.

Sadly, in the years immediately following the explosion, there was a sharp rise in the number deformed animals born throughout the region.

Deformed Flower

The Greatest Tragedy

The greatest tragedy of Chernobyl is the legacy of sickness, disease and deformity

it left with the children.

Hundreds of children exposed to the radiation have developed cancer and

other radiation related illnesses. Hundreds more children were born

malformed due to the radiation exposure of their parents.

Chernobyl . . .

An Ongoing Tragedy

No one knows for sure exactly how many lives have been lost, how many animals

killed, how many acres of land contaminated, how many homes

destroyed and how many people’s lives totally changed forever due to the

explosion at Chernobyl. What we do know, is that the tragedy is on-going.

Twenty-three years later, the suffering for both humans and the environment still continues and will likely continue for

many years to come.