Chernobyl disaster

The Chernobyl disaster occurred when reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat in Soviet Ukraine exploded during a safety test. Design flaws in the RBMK reactor and serious errors by the operators caused a power surge, a steam explosion and a fire in the graphite core that burned for days, releasing radioactive material over a large part of Europe. The Soviet authorities were slow to inform the public, and the evacuation of Pripyat began only on the following day. Dozens of plant workers and firefighters died in the weeks after the accident, and the longer-term health effects are still debated. A large exclusion zone remains around the site, and a giant steel shelter was placed over the ruined reactor in 2016.

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