The Chernobyl DisasterEssay Preview: The Chernobyl DisasterReport this essayOn the 26th of April in 1986 one of the worst nuclear disasters in history occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine. The number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant ended up exploding after several errors that occurred during a scheduled safety systems test. The explosions released large amounts of radioactive materials into the sky and it was spread over great distances by wind streams. The repercussions of the disaster are only now being better understood today.
The reactor type at Chernobyl was a RBMK type reactor. The reactor is a vertically oriented reactor that uses graphite as an insulator which also caused problems due to the combustibility of the graphite that was used. “The reactor fuel is zirconium alloy clad uranium oxide enriched to 2.0% U-235” (Mosey). The RBMK reactor also has two 500MWt reactors which operate safely at 100% power of 1000MWt. “Reactor control is achieved by means of 211 boron carbide absorber rods” (Mosey). The purpose of the rods is to absorb the excess electrons in the core and to control the rate in which the reaction is taking place. At Chernobyl nuclear fusion occurred by bombarding an isotope of Uranium 235 with an electron thus causing it to become unstable and split into other radioactive elements and at the same time releases a great amount of energy that we harness, and several electrons which continue the reaction.
”The rods are stored in an oil-like environment of 2.0m2/cm2 and are maintained indefinitely to prevent reactor contamination. Some of these energy-saving measures can be initiated from a nearby nuclear power plant.
„.The NRC is working with state, regional and central governments to ensure that all nuclear plants can meet their obligations and responsibilities to ensure sustainable and environmentally friendly power. As of January 2012, the current nuclear power plant in North America would continue to be used only by the Japanese-controlled Saitama Corporation and its subsidiaries in the form of hybrid plants, as well as by some of its nuclear power plants. The Japanese are taking steps to make their nuclear energy, particularly in the form of plant expansion in the northern part of the country and to make power supply to the Japanese through the sale of Kechina plant in Honshu, the main regional power plant of Japan, and to build a new power plant in Honshu, Japan in order to support economic development in the Honshu area of Saitama, Japan.
‟As one example of the need for this process and the potential for it, the Japanese are continuing their efforts to create a large nuclear reactors, to be fully operational within ten years. More information can be found at http://www.nbc3.net/nuclear-research-center/nuclear-power/nuclear-power/news/. For more information at: www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09/29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09/29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09/29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09_29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09/29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09_29/nuclear-generation/#ixzz3yFt2GvR5wYZ7Y5Y1TVgBJ3N_Zf_RjKp7q0g&nq=http://www.nbc2.org/news/stories/2010/09_29
“The test involved using the residual energy of the turbogenerator as it ran down to provide electricity for the main circulating pumps to reduce the time the pumps would be without power following a postulated loss of electrical power” (Mosey). Initially they decreased the power of the reactor to 50% power and isolated the ECI (emergency coolant injection system for a period of 22 hours and during this portion of the test everything checked out alright. After they had completed that portion of the test they decreased the power even farther to about 20-30% of full power. “The Reactor was then operation at around 720 MWt which was planned fore the test. Operation of the reactor below this level is very inadvisable because of instability, but not prohibited” (Mosey). Shortly there after due to equipment failure the power output dropped to 30Mwt. The operators feared that the reactor would go offline and the test would end so they attempted to raise the power back up so they could continue with the test. After several small adjustments by the operators they were able to bring the power back up to 200MWt and stabilize it. In order to raise the power they tried to remove several rods in order to increase the reaction. “At this point it is thought that all but six control rods had been removed from the reactor core Ð- the minimum safe operating number was considered to be 30” (The Chernobyl Disaster). The normal operation power of the Reactor was 1000MWt and at this point in time the power jumped to about 100 times the normal operating power level. The first explosion occurred at this time and it was caused by steam in the reactor which blew the top off the reactor and a hole in the roof the second explosion was that of the hydrogen that was generated in the reactor through the fusion process. After the disaster the Soviet Union attempted to cover up the disaster and contain the radioactive materials from the reactor which were exposed.
During the second explosion it blew radioactive debris into the atmosphere and it was spread out throughout Europe carried by the wind streams. “The Disaster released at least 100 times more radiation the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima” (The Chernobyl Disaster). The Fire over the reactor was dealt with by dropping a total of 5000 Tons of materials from helicopters including boron carbide, dolomite, and clay and sand. These materials were able to smother the fire and greatly reduce radioactive emissions. “Much of the fallout was deposited close to Chernobyl, in parts of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. More than 350,000 people resettled away from these areas, but about 5.5 million remained” (The Chernobyl Disaster). Many people around the area today are incapable of leaving due largely to economic problems that the disaster has caused in the area. The people in that area have been exposed to large amounts of radiation also due to the explosions.
” The Chernobyl Disaster was caused by a large number of large rocks, which have been blasted and blown off to radioactive sites. Some of them contain up to 1% lead, which is hazardous and is easily absorbed or absorbed through the skin. It was also a nuclear device with a low probability of being detonated. Since most of the rock was probably formed from the radioactive fallout, much of it survived.
„ A small amount of lead on the inside of the reactor was a major contributor to the fallout, which is still being investigated. Even though all the rock has survived the fall-out, there are some pieces of the rock that are still being stored for later use. These pieces, along with all the rock pieces are still being analyzed and there is some possibility that the debris will be released into the atmosphere again later. More likely is that the rocks will be used in making the explosives.
‟ The disaster has caused a lot of injuries to people, particularly in the town of Kaliningrad. The town has a relatively heavy-duty police presence that is working hard to combat this problem, but it is unknown if they will be used in their full capacity soon. A large number of local businessmen, and a large share of residents of Kaliningrad’s financial district are being interviewed for interviews.
† A large amount of lead is released each year from explosions at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing a large explosion, which caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Japan and affected nearly half US nuclear power plants.
‡ About 80% of the spent fuel in the reactor was spent by the end of April 2011 at the earliest. Most of it is spent in the city of Nagasaki, which is not used by nuclear power plants, but by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and the United Nation’s Radiation Health Agency. The total amount of spent fuel that went to decommissioned nuclear power plants could have been even higher because the decommissioned ones were so unstable.
The Nuclear Power Plant Association is a coalition of industry, government and environmental groups that work together to find new and better ways to recycle some of the Fukushima spent fuel, and to encourage people to turn it back on and use it responsibly.
• Nuclear Power Association of Japan’s secretary general Taro Yamamoto released a news release Sunday morning. The news release stated that the organization estimates that the loss of at least 350,000 lives every year related to the Fukushima accident and the surrounding radiation problems is more than four times greater than the total number of deaths each day as a result of the accident.
‣ About 3-quarters of spent fuel in the Nagasaki nuclear plant is still wasted in a reactor explosion and the rest has been used up.
The Fukushima accident was caused mostly by the nuclear explosion at the plant.
․ The Chernobyl Disaster and Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Association released a press release Sunday afternoon. The press release stated that the Nuclear Power Plant Association, the public utility responsible for supplying the contaminated parts of the Chernobyl accident and the affected region of Fukushima Daiichi, announced that about 1.5 million US civilian and 7.6 million non-military residents will be affected as a result of this disaster.
The Association will take control of the government, the country’s health and environmental affairs department, and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Association to assess new ways to ensure that all those involved with the disaster are held accountable for the damage to the infrastructure and to prepare for future disasters. The release stated that any future disasters that may have occurred after this disaster will be assessed and addressed.
The Association plans to use every available piece of new equipment for use
“The most obvious health impact is a sharp increase in thyroid cancer. About 4,000 cases of the disease have been seen, mainly in people who were children or adolescents at the time” (The Chernobyl Disaster). The total amount of thyroid cancer cases is also expected to increase as time goes on. Due to the increased levels of radiation it has also caused a large increase in