1986.
The Chernobyl disaster (locally Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа, Chornobylska Katastrofa – Chornobyl Catastrophe) was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011).[1] The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles, crippling the Soviet economy.[2]
Hman
The Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster
"In matters nuclear one thing is
certain: there is no protection in
an iron curtain." A letter in The
Times May 3rd, 1986.
On the 26th of April 1986 shortly
after midnight, to be precise, at
1:23 GMT, there occurred near
the Ukrainian town of Chornobyl
a tremendous explosion at a huge
nuclear power plant, followed by
a gradual meltdown of the
reactor No. 4.
Chornobyl[*] is situated 80 miles
north-west of Kiev, the ancient
capital of Ukraine and the Soviet
Union's third largest city.
It was by far the worst nuclear
reactor accident ever, which
immediately sent a radioactive
cloud across neighbouring
Byelorussia, Poland and the Baltic
Republics towards Scandinavia.
Within days, borne by shifting
winds, radioactive mists wafted
beyond Soviet borders and
spread across most of Europe
causing anxiety, apprehension
and fear.
The most badly affected were the
Republics of Ukraine and
Byelorussia. They suffered large
scale involuntary irradiation, due
to extensive secrecy, and great
economic damage. Furthermore
the contaminated air mass passed
over large areas of Poland and
also over parts of
Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Romania and Yugoslavia and a
number of West European
countries.
I remember it happening, it was April 1986
I believe it was 1979 or 1980.
