Report On The Chernobyl Disaster

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Report on the Chernobyl Disaster On the 26th of April 1986 a failed reactor test resulted in the world's worst nuclear disaster, subsequently displacing over 200 000 people, and instantly killing a further 54 residents and emergency workers. This was then called the Chernobyl disaster. The disaster was due to the running of a test in the early hours of that day. The test was done to see the effects of running the reactor at low power. When the test began the reactor was slowed down, to the lowest operating power. Engineers then noticed the reactor was gradually slowing — it was heading towards shutdown. Anatoly Dyatlov (a deputy chief engineer) angry ordered control rods to be lifted to speed up the reaction. The power levels rose, which started the water pump, causing the water around reactor to be drained. Without water, the reactor began to overheat. Tremors are felt. Suddenly, there was a huge surge in power. In a panic, all the control rods were lowered. The rods jammed, and following that a large explosion occurred. When the local fire men arrived they did not realise that this wasn't a typical fire which could be put out with water; furthermore, they were unaware of the invisible danger of radiation. Radiation sickness was evident among many. They felt tired and began to vomit. Gums begun to bleed and their teeth and hair began to fall out. Their skin started to bruise and bleed. Most of them unfortunately died. There have been at least 1 800 thyroid cancer cases of children who were between 0–14 years at the time of the disaster. Other health defects include premature births, mentally ill children and children with birth defects. Additionally, many were also psychologically affected, turning to drinking and suicide. Besides the effects on humans, the Chernobyl disaster also dramatically affected the environment with 150 000 km2 of land

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