On April 26, 1986, the largest man-made accident on a global scale occurred - the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Many years have passed since then, but legends still hover around Chernobyl that can be revised and rethought.
Legend 1: Comparison of the events of Chernobyl with the Hiroshima accident gave reason to believe that a nuclear explosion took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Even from school, many remember the image of a nuclear mushroom hanging over the reactor and Chernobyl.
Reality: There was no nuclear explosion at the nuclear power plant, and no nuclear mushroom was hanging over the city and its environs. Most scientists came to the conclusion that the explosion occurred due to the detonation of a very strong air-hydrogen mixture. There was an explosion, but it has nothing to do with a nuclear one.
Legend 2: The government is accused of trying to hide from the population the full danger and scale of the catastrophe.
Reality: Objectively, it was not possible to assess the scale of the accident immediately after the explosion. A more accurate picture of the background radiation became known only by the middle of the next day. Within a day, 50,000 people were evacuated. The evacuation took place calmly, without panic and casualties. Initially, the situation in the city and the consequences of the accident were clearly defined, and only then measures began to rescue the residents of the city in order to avoid panic and unnecessary gossip.
Legend 3: Various sources give a huge number of victims who died from the consequences of the accident. These numbers range from 100-300 thousand people.
Reality: The explosion killed 2 people. Radiation killed 28 people in 1986, and 29 people between 1987 and 2005. Of course, the release of radiation caused serious harm to the health of many people, and especially children. But the figures of several hundred dead are clearly exaggerated and not confirmed by anything.
Legend 4: Probably, the main myth of Chernobyl is its mutants. There are many photos of giant fruits, animals with five legs and two heads on the Internet.
Reality: When studying the Chernobyl zone, no mutations associated with radiation were found. Mutations have always occurred in nature, and radiation is not the only reason. It is possible that only radioactive metals that got into the soil gave it additional fertilization and led to good yields.
Legend 5: The famous Exclusion Zone is a deserted place that is fenced off with barbed wire.
Reality: People live in Pripyat, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant functions to this day. It employs employees and they live in the city itself. Some residents returned to their homes without permission. The city has a church, shops and a clinic. Tourists are offered excursions to interesting places in Pripyat.
Legend 6: The sarcophagus that covers the nuclear reactor is gradually destroyed, and over the whole country there is a threat of an even more severe accident.
Reality: At the moment, work is underway to reconstruct the sarcophagus, all fuel is stored in safe pools. If an accident does occur, it will in no way go beyond the exclusion zone.
Legend 7: According to many, the main cause of the accident was the "peaceful atom", which can now break out and destroy everything.
Reality: The causes of the accident are an error during the experiment and the imperfection of the safety system in the nuclear power industry. No “peaceful atom” has anything to do with the catastrophe.
Of course, around Chernobyl and this accident, there are still a lot of rumors and legends that have no substantiation and scientific proof. But all this in no way diminishes the estimate of the scale of the explosion.
