39 years ago there was a disaster at the Chernobyl NPP
On the night of April 26, 1986, a powerful explosion occurred at the fourth power unit of the Ukrainian Chernobyl NPP, resulting in the destruction of part of the reactor unit and the engine room.
As a result, a fire broke out, which spread to the roof of the third power unit, which was eliminated only on May 10.
After the catastrophe, a radioactive cloud was formed, which covered Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
It also spread to the territories of European countries – Sweden, Austria, Norway, Germany, Finland, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia.
The capital of the former USSR, Moscow, concealed the fact of the accident and the consequences of the ecological disaster – the first report appeared only on April 28.
Some facts about the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster:
The population of a 30-kilometer zone was evacuated, and 2,293 settlements became radioactively contaminated.
The Chernobyl disaster was rated seven points out of seven possible on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), making it the largest man-made disaster in human history.
The accident released 100 times more radiation than the effect of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
It is claimed that the Chernobyl accident caused about 90,000 cancer deaths worldwide.
More than 5 million people live in areas considered contaminated with radioactive material after the accident.
To prevent the spread of radiation, the reactor was covered with a special protective sarcophagus in late 1986.
In 2016, the New Safe Confinement (NSC) arch was placed over the shelter.
VIDEO. Goodbye, Chernobyl! the New Safe Confinement has started moving… [November 2016]
