The Chernobyl Disaster: The Nuclear Catastrophe and its Devastating Effects

By 50minutes

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the history of the Chernobyl disaster in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the Chernobyl disaster. When a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in April 1986, nobody could have known just how devastating the effects would be. Thousands of people died as a result of the catastrophe and even today the surrounding areas are considered uninhabitable. But what makes Chernobyl even more shocking is the mystery that clouds it. The government’s attempts to cover up the accident and the unknown long term-effects of radiation mean that the story of Chernobyl is far from finished.

In just 50 minutes you will:
   • Learn what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear plant and why the reactor exploded
   • Understand why the disaster had such catastrophic effects in Ukraine and the surrounding areas
   • Analyse the actions of the employees and the government and learn how they tried to hide the truth about the accident

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• Language: English
• Publisher: 50Minutes.com
• Release date: Jan 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9782806279200

Book preview

Key information

When: 26 April 1986

Where: Chernobyl, Ukraine

Background:

The Soviet Union’s civil nuclear programme

The construction of the Chernobyl nuclear plant

Key figures:

Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian statesman (born 1931)

The Chernobyl nuclear plant staff (engineers and firemen)

Impact:

A shock to the Soviet regime

Human and ecological disaster

A reassessment of the safety of nuclear power

On 26 April 1986 at 1:22am, the jewel in the Soviet technological crown and symbol of communist success, the Chernobyl nuclear plant was still the biggest nuclear plant in the USSR. Just one minute later, reactor no. 4 exploded, transforming this symbol of prosperity into the nightmarish symbol of just how powerless the human race can be in the face of nuclear disaster. This Ukrainian nuclear plant situated 20 kilometres from the Belarusian border became the epicentre of a huge radioactive cloud which would affect large parts of Europe. Even today the site’s surrounding 30 kilometres are classed as an uninhabitable no-go zone and the contaminated areas stretch for tens of thousands of square kilometres.

This tragic accident was the biggest disaster the nuclear power industry has ever known, and has come to hold a particular place in the European collective imagination. The scenario has all the key elements of a crime story; a series of human errors, technology going out of control, political scandal. However, in this story the outcomes were largely unknown at the time. Nothing can be said about Chernobyl with certainty - the cause of the explosion, the people