According to official data, 31 people died immediately after the explosion. More dangerous, during the 10 days since the detonation, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor continues to carry toxic radioactive gases, particularly serious pollution to nearby areas. It is worth mentioning that up to 36 hours after the disaster, local authorities began evacuating more than 100,000 people from the danger zone.
The death toll from the blast is still a controversial topic. According to a 2005 United Nations report: 47 workers in the factory and 9 children died from radiation exposure. In addition, about 4,000 people (mostly in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) Radiation free from the Chernobyl disaster. However, according to a report by Greenpeace, the death toll from radioactive contamination could reach 93,000 - a far more shocking figure.
But the story of the Chernobyl disaster has not stopped there yet ...
Despite setting up a 19-mile restricted area and building a large concrete coffin to cover radioactive waste inside Reactor 4, the Ukrainian government continues to allow the remaining three reactors to operate after the disaster. .
At the time of the accident, Reactors 5 and 6 (each with a capacity of 1 gigawatts) were being built and stopped shortly thereafter. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 continued. energy production. Troubles still chase Ukraine in 1991, a fire broke out in the Second Reactor which severely damaged and the Ukrainian government shut it down.
Reactor No. 1 was closed in late 1996 due to public outcry, as part of an agreement between Ukraine and international organizations such as the IAEA. Phase 3 reactor continued to operate until 2000 when international negotiations on the nuclear issue achieved certain results.It is not until 14 years after the catastrophe that the Ukrainian government has completely stopped operating the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. What is the reason?
The first cause was the lack of energy in the country. In 1987, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Soviet Union had achieved important accomplishments under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev and that in terms of technology, the Soviet Union had been far from the United States for years. Therefore, the demand for energy is very high.
Meanwhile, no non-nuclear measure could produce the same amount of electricity as Chernobyl and the construction of a new nuclear power plant will cost a lot of money and time. However, it must be admitted that the Soviet economy has not achieved the expected results, even with signs of deterioration following the Chernobyl disaster.
Another reason for this is that stopping a nuclear power plant is not an easy task. In fact, despite the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the operation of the plant has not been completely stopped because the reactors need to be disassembled and decontaminated, the uranium poor * High radiation should also be removed.
According to the current plan of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), to overcome the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, there is much to do, not simply removing the uranium rods. The decontamination and preservation of each of the devices used in the Chernobyl plant are also required. Remember, nuclear waste disposal is not as simple as handling industrial waste or conventional waste. Currently, NEA is building a storage facility in place to store nuclear waste.
The concrete coffin that was erected over the No. 4 Reactor was the only solution. So, at this moment, Ukraine is building a $ 2.3 billion steel dome that will surround the No. 4 reactor to replace the concrete coffin. Things are going very fast thanks to the support of the international community. So far, most of the dome construction has been completed.
This work is equipped with a number of modern technologies to ensure that if anything goes wrong with the Chernobyl nuclear plant, the radioactive material can not leak out. However, according to the Ukrainian government, the plant area will only be fully liberated after 2065 and radioactive particles will remain in existence for thousands of years.
