The creation of a nuclear power plant became a turning point in the history of energy, because a person was able to receive enormous energy without using traditional fuel sources. The nuclear power plant runs on nuclear fuel, therefore, in the process of generating electricity, care must be taken to avoid a possible accident.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP), located near the city of the same name in Ukraine, became the largest accident in the history of nuclear power. It happened on April 26, 1989. The destruction of the fourth power unit provoked the release of many fission products of nuclear isotopes. The air masses carried them over considerable distances. Radioactive isotopes have been found on the border with Russia and Belarus, as well as in a number of other countries.
The day before the disaster, the NPP workers planned to carry out design tests of the safety system of the fourth power unit. During the tests, difficulties arose related to the control of the reactor. On April 26, at about one in the morning, there was a sharp uncontrolled increase in power, due to which the destruction of the fourth power unit occurred.
In the following days, attempts were made to deactivate radioactive isotopes using special substances, but they did not lead to anything. For unknown reasons, the temperature in the reactor shaft began to rise, which provoked an even greater release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere.
More than 8 million people, including residents of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, were exposed to radioactive exposure. Almost 400 thousand residents of the territories adjacent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were urgently evacuated. Agricultural land was damaged.
Fukushima-1
The accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima-1 occurred on March 11, 2011. This accident is considered the largest nuclear power plant disaster since the infamous Chernobyl.
Unlike the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the accident at Fukushima-1 is not associated with a malfunction of power units. On that day, Japan was struck by a 9-point earthquake that triggered a tsunami. A giant wave swept over the diesel generators, which are needed to control the cooling system, and put them out of action.
The temperature inside the first, second and third reactors began to rise rapidly, and nuclear fuel began to melt. The accumulation of huge amounts of hydrogen provoked violent explosions. This accident was assigned the highest degree of danger. Significant areas have been contaminated with the radioactive isotope of cesium. The content of hazardous substances in coastal waters was millions of times higher than the norm. More than 150 thousand people were evacuated from the contaminated zone.
The area within a radius of 20 km from Fukushima will be uninhabitable for many decades. Today, here you can meet only people who are eliminating the consequences of that terrible accident.
