Chernobyl: A Nuclear Wasteland

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Recommended: Chernobyl disaster and its effects

Leading up to the accident The morning of April 26, 1986 started just like all other mornings in Chernobyl, with just one exception, there was an emergency systems test underway at the near-by nuclear power station. This test was unauthorized, none the less, it was designed to ensure cooling water for the reactor could still be controlled with little or no power to the station. The cold war was in full swing, and Russia was still poised to go to war with the United States at any moment. It was due to this “distrust” that the test was being run that morning. The head nuclear scientist on shift, Anatoli Dyatlov, was from the “old school” and thought that he alone could control the whole reactor process, and he also thought he knew more than the new nuclear engineers straight out of college that was present that morning. It was due to this type of arrogance that this global catastrophe occurred. (Read, 1993) “In Pripyat preparations were under way for a shutdown of a different kind. May was the first major festival of the communist year, and although it would fall on the Thursday of the following week, many meant to take time off and start their holiday on the previous weekend.” (Read p.58) That May was exceptionally warm, and there were a lot of activities going on in the surrounding countryside. The cherry trees were in full bloom, and the air was filled with the scent of pine trees from the forests around Chernobyl and Pripyat. Everyone’s mind was on the upcoming holiday and was restless with the thought of time off. (Read, 1993) The Accident Dyatlov was the head nuclear scientist in charge at the Lenin nuclear power station at Chernobyl, which was just inside of the border of Ukraine. He himself drew up plans fo... ... middle of paper ... ...rn. Retrieved March 15, 2011 from LexisNexis Academic database at http://www.bpcc.edu/bpcclibrary/databases/databasesubjects.html • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); (2006) Environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident and their remediation: Twenty years of experience. Retrieved March 26, 2011 from http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1239_web.pdf • Birch, D. (2007) Nature reclaiming Chernobyl zone. Retrieved March 15, 2011 from LexisNexis Academic Database at http://www.bpcc.edu/bpcclibrary/databases/databasesubjects.html • McKie, R. (2011) Chernobyl 25 years on: a poisoned landscape. Retrieved March 28,2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/27/chernobyl-disaster-anniversary-japan • Nuclear energy agency (2002) 2002 update of Chernobyl: ten years on. Retrieved March 28, 2011 from http://www.oecd-nea.org/rp/chernobyl/

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