Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident

April 1986

https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/chernobyl.jpgSlide2

By the time the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, they had

17 nuclear power plants, with more being built. These plants provided 12.7% of all the electricity used in the Soviet Union. Slide3

Why did they build so many? And why did they build most of them close to large populations?

Map

source:

http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/files/display/390/fullsize

Power plant sites source: "Nuclear Power Plants."

The Radiation Legacy of the Soviet Nuclear Complex: An Analytical Overview

. Ed. Egorov Nikolaĭ. 1st ed. Routledge, 2000. 52-53. Slide4

The Soviets had lots of coal

, but most was east of the Ural Mountains, far from

Adapted from a map at

https://www.marxists.org/glossary/media/places/u/ussr/1982/coal-minerals.jpg

most workers

AND

far

from most energy customers.

Sending coal back east was

expensive

.

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/l/R/d/8/S/x/coal-md.pngSlide5

The Soviets also had lots of petroleum

, and natural gas. But most of that was also east of the Urals. And

Adapted from a map at

https://www.marxists.org/glossary/media/places/u/ussr/1982/coal-minerals.jpg

much

of it was also very

far

north

- in taiga and tundra – so oil/gas wells would be very expensive to drill and to maintain there.

http://www.fe.doe.gov/images/education/oilwell.gifSlide6

So here’s their problem: They have LOTS of energy resources, but getting to them – and then sending them to the population centers – was

HARD and EXPENSIVE!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Chuo_Main_Line_Freight_Yatsugatake.jpg

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01857/tundra0_1857856b.jpgSlide7

In

the 1950s, the Soviets began building nuclear power plants. They used graphite cooling system instead of the water cooling system used in the the

U.S. and other

countries. This was

cheaper

for the Soviets, but also

less

safe

.Slide8

The day before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, plant operators were getting ready to

shut down reactor number 4. The plan was to do routine work on the reactor, then start it up again.

http://thevelvetrocket.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/chernobyl-before-the-disaster.jpg

Chernobyl NPP, before the accidentSlide9

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--964lQ2TWXY/UIWxlXnN0XI/AAAAAAAAA4s/qKQDv9mVTLo/s400/Chernobyl.jpg

The senior operator was

supposed

to

be on duty, but had

left. Less experienced workers were left

in charge.

They

broke safety rules when they also shut down the automatic

safety

system -Slide10

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--964lQ2TWXY/UIWxlXnN0XI/AAAAAAAAA4s/qKQDv9mVTLo/s400/Chernobyl.jpg

-

t

he system that

was

supposed

to

protect everyone from a nuclear accident.

http://mrwgifs.com/spongebob-is-terrified-under-his-bed-covers/Slide11

At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, two explosion

s went off seconds apart in reactor number 4. This blew the

roof off the reactor building, sending burning material through the air and starting several fires.

Chernobyl

NPP Reactor 4 explosion, computer generated image

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/zLa84BN4REs/maxresdefault.jpgSlide12

The firefighters who arrived first had no idea the fire was from the reactor core. They didn’t know their bodies were taking on high levels of radiation.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01371/monument_1371629i.jpgSlide13

Twenty-eight emergency workers died

within a month of the explosion from severe radiation poisoning.

http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/04/chernobyl-25-years-later-then-and-now/Slide14

Chernobyl NPP, three days after the accident

http://imgarcade.com/1/chernobyl-before-explosion/

The Soviet Union did not

admit

to the world what had happened.Slide15

Scientists in Sweden

figured it out 2 days later when Chernobyl’s radiation set off alarms 620 miles away in a Swedish nuclear power plant.

http://one-europe.info/user/files/Briefs/chernobyl_001.pngSlide16

Today, about

1000 square miles around Chernobyl is mostly off-limits to people.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3ylb7WqRA0/Te8TSnDcxjI/AAAAAAAAHzg/OHo08FcEh4Y/s1600/chernobyl-exclusion-zone-map.jpg

http://www.lovethesepics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The-sign-at-the-edge-of-the-exclusion-zone-Chernobyl-October-2012.jpgSlide17

A few

elderly people were allowed to return there. Scientists and government workers also go in to monitor and to do research.

http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2015/March/03-19-2015Ukraine_Aid.jpgSlide18

But for the most part, the zone is full of

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-content/photos/000/838/cache/83804_990x742-cb1410904296.jpg

and

overgrown streets.

abandoned houses,

empty buildings,

http://i1.wp.com/alexkane.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DSC06789.jpg?resize=600%2C400

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/23/article-2177704-142ED1B1000005DC-533_964x628.jpgSlide19

Vehicles used in the cleanup were contaminated and left behind in the Exclusion Zone.

There are at least three “vehicle graveyards” in the Exclusion Zone.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=7&with_photo_id=14282922&order=date_desc&user=944583

http://tylyenglish7.wikispaces.com/The+Chernobyl+disaster

Slide20

abandoned control room of reactor #4

http://www.lovethesepics.com/2013/03/chernobyl-exclusion-zone-adrenaline-radiation-urbex-a-good-day-to-die-hard

/

Slide21

Because there is concern that the concrete cover on

reactor #4 is leaking, a larger seal, expected to last 100

years, is being built.

http://antinuclearinfo.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/diagram-chernobyl-sarcophag.gif

d

rawing of what it will look like when finishedSlide22

Since the danger from Chernobyl can affect many the world, many countries are helping pay for and build it.

http://rt.com/files/news/chernobyl-new-safe-confinement-773/first-section-structure-exploded.jpgSlide23

When finished, it will be slid over reactor #4 on rails. Then it will be secured into position.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHdL_NyDlYcpjHh7RXpdv7JJ5mnRoKY5RADoidFLIaHkqwIkeOLQSlide24

http://www.livescience.com/13858-chernobyl-nuclear-disaster-25-years.html

Chernobyl is a good example of how

one

country’s nuclear disaster can impact people in

many

countries

.