The explosion of the RBMK nuclear reactor in Chernobyl occurred on April 26, 1986. After that accident, Chernobyl became a ghost town. In 1986 Chernobyl was still part of the Soviet Union and is now Ukrainian territory.
What were the mistakes that allowed this accident to happen?
Safety measures were not conducted correctly, which allowed the uranium fuel to heat up. The Chernobyl power plant did not have a containment structure (a vial that aims to keep all the radiation inside the plant). The disaster released strontium, plutonium, iodine and cesium contaminating up to 142,000 km.
In order to assess the level of severity of nuclear disasters, a scale called the International Nuclear Accident Scale (INES) was developed, which has seven levels. To date, only two nuclear accidents have reached level 7, these are Fukushima and Chernobyl.
It is estimated that the levels of nuclear energy release from the plant have been about 100 times higher than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs that have obtained level 4.
Inside the nuclear power plant there are still around 200 tons of radioactive material. Due to the radioactive disaster, doctors have recommended that pregnant women in the area abort, since it was not known what impacts such radioactive levels could have on the fetus.
Radiation levels were so high that slight radioactive disturbances from nuclear fallout were observed even in Ireland. The nuclear cloud reached an altitude of 1,000 meters.
67,000 people were evacuated throughout the perimeter. There is no exact number of people affected by this accident, but it is estimated that between dead and sick, around 100,000 people have been affected by the explosion. Some corpses have been buried in lead coffins due to the high level of radiation they had. The accident impacted the lives of survivors so much that around 20% of accident-related deaths are suicides. Among the survivors, the most observed disease was thyroid cancer, with 1,800 cases in children between 0 and 14 years of age.
For the decontamination of the area, an excavation was carried out under the plant to pump liquid nitrogen, this maneuver had the objective of cooling the nuclear fuel. Helicopter pilots flew over the premises, throwing a mixture of lead, clay, sand, among other materials that, in addition to reducing radioactive levels, also helped them contain the flames. Cleaning was also done on the roof to remove the contaminated debris that was expelled by the explosion.
Even after the explosion this nuclear power plant was still active until 1993. That's because there were 4 active reactors in the area and in the disaster only number 4 was compromised, so the production of electricity continued with the other 3 remaining reactors. In 1991, reactor number 2 caught fire, resulting in its deactivation. Reactor number 1 stopped working in 1996. And reactor number 3 was deactivated in 2000 after a negotiation between Ukraine and the countries that are part of the G7 in exchange for 1,500 million euros.
The other reactors were able to remain active thanks to the construction of a sarcophagus that contained much of the radiation. In 2010 they have started to build a new sarcophagus to contain the radiation for a century. Currently, the continuation of work in the area would not be allowed due to radioactive levels harmful to workers, but the regulations in force at that time allowed work under these conditions.
Although the reactors are no longer active, work is still being done in the region to guarantee the safety of the area. In reactor 4 there are still signs of fission reactions due to the concentration of radioactive elements.
It is still many years before radiation levels in the area return to normal and the region becomes habitable again. Some say that another 100 years would be necessary. In this area several wild animals can already be observed, their presence is clarified due to the non-human occupation of the area, which allows these animals free passage to inhabit it.
Kamil is a photographer from Poland who did a very interesting project. Since he was little he has always heard about what happened in Chernobyl and he took a series of photos to compare what the areas looked like before and what they look like now. In the photos we can see how the sites are now taken over by plants and what was not destroyed in the explosion now shows great signs of deterioration. The area abandoned 36 years ago now looks like a ghost town.
Due to the global impact of this catastrophe, several myths about Chernobyl arose. There are people who believe that the great radioactive impact caused so many mutations in the animals that various monsters inhabit the area. This is not true, several animals with high levels of caesium 137 and some mutations were observed, but they are not considered monstrosities.
Another myth is that high consumption of alcoholic beverages (vodka, wine and beer) would protect against the negative effects of radiation. Alcohol does not prevent any radioactive damage, but there are studies that an antioxidant present in red wine (resveratrol) could protect cells from radioactive damage.
As a compound that combats the negative effects of radiation we can cite the study by Reddemann et al. of 2014 that evaluated the effect of prussian blue on the decrease in the concentration of cesium 137 in 285 wild pigs. 1250 mg of prussian blue was added to the pig ration for every 1 kg of feed. Prussian blue is a substance widely used as a pigment. The conclusion of the study is that they observed a reduction of 350 to 400 Bq/kg in the meat of the pigs. They have also found that caesium-137 levels are more likely to fall below 600 Bq/kg (the limit for consumption) when meat is not contaminated above 1,000 Bq/kg.
In humans, it was found that prussian blue can lower the lifetime of cesium 137 from 110 days to 30 days and of thallium from 8 to 3 days. This compound prevents the absorption of radiation and excretes it from the body. It is considered safe for children 2 to 12 years old, pregnant women and adults. The ingestion of a 500mg capsule is recommended during treatment. It is important to note that this capsule is a medicine and is only sold with a prescription. The content of the capsule is not the same as the blue dyes used for art, to these are added compounds that should not be ingested. Side effects of this treatment are constipation in the belly and upset stomach.
📚 Data source:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/ciencia/5-datos-claves-desastre-chernobil_14343
https://okdiario.com/curiosidades/accidente-chernobyl-1119531
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2016/04/160426_ciencia_chernobyl_mitos_radiacion_gtg
https://www.xataka.com/otros/pripyat-antes-despues-chernobyl-asi-ciudad-central-despues-accidente
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-60828751
https://sci-hub.se/10.15653/tpg-140231
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