Chernobyl Case Study
explanatory Essay
1188 words
The Chernobyl nuclear accident was an accident that had many repercussions and caused many to doubt nuclear power across the world. Chernobyl was caused by many events that lead to the eventually melt down of one of the reactors. There have been many studies on why the Chernobyl nuclear power plant melted down. Some say it was from design flaws with the RBMK reactor. Others say it was due to lack of employee training and lack of knowledge on how to safely and properly run the plant. And also it may have been because there was a lack of safety measures implemented and those that were, were not properly followed. What ever it was that caused the accident, all of thoughts on why the reactor exploded, tie into the three engineering accident …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the chernobyl nuclear accident had many repercussions and caused many to doubt nuclear power across the world.
- Explains that the soviet union was on the verge of collapsing. high officials were not willing to share information with many workers of their companies.
- Explains that an hro stands for high reliability organization. they believe that failure will not happen in the right environment and situation.
- Opines that most nuclear power plants are considered to be hro because of their relatively dangerous nature and if there is a problem it tends to not be small one. the reactor in chernobyl was not an 'hro' because at the time the soviet government did not properly train their employees.
- Explains the second kind of accident theory called the natural accident theory (nat). the nat believes that there is no way to avoid accidents and the accidents are evident.
- Explains that the nat applies very closely to the chernobyl accident, stating that there is no question whether or not there will be an accident.
- Explains the social-technical theory, which tries to describe the accident by using all variables as possible cause of failure.
- Explains that many workers at chernobyl were overworked and forced to work hours away from their families. there was also a lack of safety culture in the soviet union.
- Explains that the chernobyl reactor blew up due to a lack of specialization and safety protocol. the soviet union collapsed after the disaster.
The reactor in Chernobyl was not an HRO because at the time the Soviet Government did not properly train their employees 'to operate a very complex and tightly coupled reactor design like the RBMK was. Had the Soviet government been more willing too share their knowledge with their employees and had their company been more of an HRO the explosion and the meltdown of Chernobyl could have been prevented or at least the outcome could have been drastically reduced, and many lives could have been saved. The second kind of accident theory is called the Natural Accident Theory (NAT). The NAT believes that there is no way to avoid accidents and the accidents are evident. Natural Accident has the ideology of a pessimist, their thoughts is that there is no way to prevent the worst from happening even is the right people working in the right environment accidents are going to happen. The only thing that the NAT believe to be able to control is the impact of the disaster that is evident and how to prevent human loss of …show more content…
This theory is the most complex of the three, but is also fairly simple. The Social- Technical theory tries to describe the accident by using all variables as possible cause of failure. This theory looks into the design of the product, how the product I intended to be used and how the workers are trained to use it, but also the actual implementation of the product. Also this type of accident theory looks into the social aspect of the work environment. Looking into the employees ' motivation such as, whether the workers are overworked and tired if they 're busy with other tasks and are unable to focus solely on the task at hand, also a possibility is if the worker has distractions outside of work at home, and finally it could also look into if the worker actually is properly trained and is proficient and knowledgeable about what they are doing. Along with analyzing all the other aspects Social- Technical also looks at the design process the methods used to produce the product, the materials used in the process, and finally the regulations behind the production of the
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- The Chernobyl Disasteranalytical essayThe Chernobyl Disaster It was to be the largest nuclear complex in the world, the Soviet Union's pride for the energy industry. But one day, something went terribly wrong. Chernobyl, a town located 70 miles north of Kiev, Ukraine (Pringle, 64), had four reactors to supply much of Ukraine's power in the region (Edwards, 104). To run an experiment on the reactor, technicians disabled key safety systems. The reactor had a good record of safety (Pringle, 64-65).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that chernobyl was to be the largest nuclear complex in the world, the soviet union's pride for the energy industry.
- Describes how the reactor's fuel began to dissipate and fall into the pool of cooling water. as the hot material met the water, a massive amount of steam was produced.
- Analyzes how the explosion produced 90 times as much fallout as hiroshima received from one atomic bomb alone. explosions and fires that followed sent 12 million curies of radiation into the air in just 24 hours.
- Explains that two million people now live within contaminated regions. their lives have adapted to deal with it. clocks atop government buildings flash the time, temperature, and radiation level.
- Explains that the soviet government sent an army of 750,000 people to clean up the accident. they erected a twenty-four story sarcophagus of concrete block around the remains of reactor number 4.
- Explains that uranium fuel remains in the rubble, scattered or even fused with melted concrete or steel. chernobyl had four reactors, but they are unsafe. number two was shut down after a fire in 1991.
- Explains that chernobyl-related matters consume 15 percent of ukraine's budget. fifteen of these reactors still operate in ukraine, russia, and lithuania.
- Opines that chernobyl is a sore thumb for the ukraine. the environmental impact of this incident is undeniable.
632 wordsRead More - The Chernobyl Disasterexplanatory essayIntroductory Paragraph Mutations caused by the radioactive fallout of the Chernobyl disaster have included growth of extra appendages, deformation of body parts and several other health effects. The Chernobyl disaster was caused by a neglected reactor that caught fire and exploded due to low safety regulations in place in the nuclear industry. The reactor that caught fire and exploded was Reactor 4. The Chernobyl power plant was on the outskirts of the town of Pripyat. The fallout due to the explosion has damaged the environment, and the normal levels of radiation are not expected to return to normal for millions of years.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the chernobyl disaster was caused by a neglected reactor that caught fire and exploded due to low safety regulations in the nuclear industry.
- Explains that reactor 4 was a neglected reactor that was apart of the chernobyl nuclear power plant located just outside of pripyat, ukraine.
- Explains that the town of pripyat is located just outside of the chernobyl power plant. the town's main industry was directed towards nuclear energy.
- Explains that the disaster has caused several fatalities and advanced medical conditions, including cancer, infertility, and birth defects. countries around the world have taken measures to prevent a disaster similar to the chernobyl accident.
- Explains that the chernobyl disaster was caused by the neglection of reactor 4, due to the low nuclear safety regulations and protocols of the time.
623 wordsRead More - Essay On Chernobylexplanatory essayStudy of the Nuclear Disaster of Chernobyl The worst accident in the history of this nuclear power generation occurred on the morning of April 26, 1986. It was at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear power station in the Soviet Union. At 1:32AM Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Telyatnikov received a telephone call and was told that there was a fire at the nuclear power plant. There were many reasons their plant had backfired. These reasons included human error and poor plant design due to the cold war.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that chernobyl was the worst accident in the history of nuclear power generation.
- Explains that chernobyl's electrical engineer was not a specialist in reactor plants, and the soviet union had poor designs for nuclear plants due to the cold war.
- Explains that uranium-oxide fuel overheated at 3,500 degrees fahrenheit, causing a massive explosion. the soviet government admitted the truth after swedish monitoring stations reported high levels of wind-transported radioactivity.
- Explains that the steam explosion and fire released about five percent of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere. studies have shown how radioactivity affects the body.
- Explains krypton 85 affects the entire body and can increase a person's chances of getting cancers like leukemia within two years after exposure. cesium 137 attacks the whole body, centering on the liver, spleen and the muscles.
- Estimates that over 15 million people have been victimized by the disaster in some way and that it will cost over 60 billion dollars to make these people healthy.
- Explains that genetic mutations occur twice as often in children of families exposed to radioactive fallout and are in the germ line. this effect was not observed in survivors of hiroshima and nagasaki.
- Explains that radiation weakens your immune system and makes you susceptible to many diseases. radiation sickness induces vomiting and leaves burns and scars on your skin.
- Explains that chernobyl was the worst accident in the history of power plants. greenpeace spoke out against it with a powerful quote.
977 wordsRead More - The Effects Of The Chernobyl Disasteropinion essayYves Germain Patrick Leitch 5/27/2014 Chernobyl Essay On April 26, 1986 Ukraine experienced an unprecedented nuclear disaster, and over 200 times the radiation that was released in Hiroshima and Nagasaki seeped out into the atmosphere; this unfortunate event was given the name the Chernobyl disaster. The plant operators were in violation of the safety regulations, when they turned off vital control systems at the plants reactor number four and they allowed it to reach a level of low power which caused a series of catastrophic events. The day prior to the incident the operators at the plant were preparing conduct a one-time routine maintenance shutdown of the reactor number four. Although as a result of their negligence they disabled the automatic shutdown mechanisms, and there was no way to stop the explosion; which caused the 1,000 ton plate that covered the reactor core to detach releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986, when ukraine experienced an unprecedented nuclear disaster and over 200 times the radiation that was released in hiroshima and nagasaki seeped out into the atmosphere.
- Estimates that around 64 people died as a result of being directly exposed to the radiation. the chernobyl plant was officially closed for decompression on december 15, 2000.
- Explains the medical conditions associated with radiation exposure are a major issue for the families that were affected. the swiss medical weekly reported an increase in cancer cases between 1990 and 2000 in the areas affected by radiation.
- Explains that the radiation from the chernobyl disaster affected the environment immediately. the area around the nuclear plant has thrived over the past 25 years.
- Opines that the chernobyl incident should have never occurred, and that it should be used as a lesson to countries dealing with nuclear technology.
861 wordsRead More - Chernobyl Accident of 1986explanatory essayIn order to understand the Chernobyl accident 1986, we must understand a little bit about the background of the Chernobyl power complex and the surrounding area. The Chernobyl power complex sat about 210 miles north of Kiev, Ukraine and somewhere around 32 miles south of the Belarus border. The power complex consisted of a total of four RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors and at the time of the accident two more reactors where being built nearby. Reactors one and two were built between 1970 and 1977. The third and fourth reactors were built in 1983. The plant also consisted of a man-made lake that covered some 35 square miles that was built to supply cooling water to the reactors.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the operators of the power plant took a couple of missteps to cause the chernobyl accident.
- Describes the sources and effecy of ionizing radiation.
- Explains the chernobyl power complex and the surrounding area. the rbmk-1000 is a soviet design and built from graphite.
- Explains that the explosion caused a steam explosion and released fission products into the atmosphere, causing the largest unrestrained radioactive release in the environment ever recorded for any civilian operation.
- Opines that the accident in chernobyl showed the world the problems that could and will occur if the proper steps aren't taken.
1060 wordsRead More - The Dangers And Effects Of The Chernobyl Disasteranalytical essayDraft 2 One of the largest concerns for the modern world is the current energy consumption rate. With present day fossil fuel reserves rapidly shrinking, the importance of deciding on alternative energies grows significantly. While there are considerable options, such as solar, hydro, geothermal, nuclear fusion, and fission; it is important to remember the inherent dangers that these untested sources can create. The Chernobyl Disaster serves as a grim reminder of the consequences that can result from new technological breakthroughs. This essay will explore the social, health, environmental, causes and effects of the Chernobyl Disaster, the impact it carried, and the safety regulations and political standpoints that changed as a result.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the impact of the chernobyl disaster on the world's energy consumption.
- Describes the chernobyl disaster, which occurred during a system test at the nuclear power plant on saturday, 26th april 1986.
- Illustrates how the effects of the chernobyl disaster were made worse by the firefighter's ineffective response.
- Argues that the standard of strict confidentiality played a role in making the chernobyl power plant the worst nuclear power plant in history, in terms of both cost and casualties.
- Explains that the communist system at the time provided large incentives to maximize production, which contributed to poor maintenance in the plant.
- Explains the causes that led to the chernobyl disaster, a cataclysmic event that created changes in many areas including: the society of people living in proximity of the plant, people’s health, the environment, nuclear power, and nuclear safety regulations.
- Explains that the number of evacuees in pripyat grew as the nuclear fallout from the explosion spread. they faced enormous social changes and were shunned by the surrounding towns.
- Explains that chernobyl's nuclear fallout was one of the most significant and longest lasting dangers. it was spread through the plumes of fire after the reactor was exposed.
- Explains that in the case of chernobyl, the largest implication for one’s health was the danger of thyroid cancer.
- Explains that unscear's report in 2000 examined the health impacts of the chernobyl explosion and found that there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributed to radiation exposure.
- Explains that the elephant's foot is a combination of nuclear fuel mixed with concrete, sand, and core sealing material which melted through. it possesses severe and even fatal health risks today.
- Explains that the elephant's foot presents an additional health concern, since it is melting into the base of chernobyl and could trigger another explosion or leach radioactive materials into nearby residents' drinking water.
- Explains that the exclusion zone around chernobyl has become a haven for wildlife despite the dangers that still exist in the reactors core and select areas around it.
- Explains that the profound dangers witnessed after chernobyl led to a change in the perception of the safety of nuclear energy. the world association of nuclear operators (wano) was formed in 1989.
- Explains that chernobyl changed russia's political position, and indirectly affected the rest of the world. before the incident, president gorbachev had begun implementing a policy called glasnost.
- Analyzes how the chernobyl disaster led to a dramatic change in the environment, health, safety regulations, and politics. the true testament and warning regarding nuclear disasters provided has been weakened by its depiction in pop culture.
1739 wordsRead More - The world has seen numerous engineering disasters and from each one, has gained insight to better prepare for future calamities. However, it is very difficult to fully foresee how an accident might occur just by looking back to past disasters. In addition, it is even harder to prepare for something that hasn’t even happened before. The Chernobyl accident is a prime example of an event that couldn’t be fully prevented just by looking to past disasters or even predicting this exact accident. Psychological biases, as well as other contributing factors such as human factors, and design flaws made the Chernobyl accident a catastrophe that no one could have anticipated.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the chernobyl accident is a prime example of an event that couldn't be fully prevented just by looking back to past disasters.
- Opines that the chernobyl disaster of 1986 was one of the worst disasters in the world. it was supposed to be a routine check to determine how long the steam-driven turbines at the plant would continue to generate electricity.
- Explains that the disaster at chernobyl didn't transpire just from one factor, but rather from several factors.
- Analyzes the design flaws in the reactor, such as the positive void coefficient and the control rods.
- Analyzes how human factors, psychological biases, and design flaws contributed to the chernobyl accident.
- Explains that the aftermath of chernobyl had a crippling impact on society and business that would take years to recover from.
- Opines that the chernobyl accident was a lesson learned, but at too high of an cost. the reactor wasn't in containment building, which meant chemicals would be released into the atmosphere.
- Opines that even though the chernobyl incident was one of the worst nuclear disasters that the world has ever seen, it was a mistake that would be valued from then on.
- Explains that arnerup, fredrik, "the chernobyl accident: the course of events." stacken.
- Describes the lessons learned from chernobyl's assessment of radiological and health impacts.
- Explains chernobyl appendix 1: sequence of events.
- Explains that only 50 deaths caused by chernobyl? the ongoing health effects.
- Cites meshkati, najmedin, "human factors in large-scale technological systems' accidents: three mile island, bhopal, chernobyl."
- Describes the nuclear disasters: chernobyl, three mile island - cnn ireport.
- Explains that what are the social and economic costs of the chernobyl accident.
1730 wordsRead More - Chernobylexplanatory essayChernobyl Chernobyl was the greatest nuclear disaster of the 20th century. On April 26th, 1986, one of four nuclear reactors located in the Soviet Union melted down and contaminated a vast area of Eastern Europe. The meltdown, a result of human error, lapsed safety precautions, and lack of a containment vessel, was barely contained by dropping sand and releasing huge amounts of deadly radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. The resulting contamination killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people and devastated the environment. The affects of this accident are still being felt today and will be felt for generations to come.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that chernobyl was the greatest nuclear disaster of the 20th century. the meltdown resulted from human error, lapsed safety precautions, and lack of a containment vessel.
- Explains that nuclear power is a controversial issue because of its inherent danger and the amount of waste that the plants produce.
- Explains that nuclear waste is a continuing problem that is growing exponentially. everyone wants energy generated by power plants, but no one wants to take responsibility for the waste.
- Opines that nuclear power plants should be dismantled and replaced with safer energy generating sources. governments around the world need to acknowledge that there is no safe source of nuclear energy.
451 wordsRead More - Chernobyl Essayexplanatory essayChernobyl was the largest uncontrolled radioactive release ever recorded in history. Chernobyl was an accident that occurred while running routine checks on the Chernobyl 4 reactor on April 26, 1986. The explosion released all of its xenon gas, and about half of its iodine-131 and caesium-137 into the atmosphere. This accident resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions left with radiation poisoning. Chernobyl used to be prospering with a population of about 14,000; however, today it's a ghost town with a population hovering around 150 residents. Almost all the population chose to evacuate, while others took the risk in order to hold onto their memories of the once thriving town. The radiation still hovers around in the air today, still at very powerful and dangerous levels; 600,000 workers have attempted to contain the radiation levels. Chernobyl still has lasting effects today; it released record amounts of radiation, affected millions of lives, called for thousands of abortion requests, destroyed wild life, and it was a key turning point in history for nuclear safety.
In this essay, the author
- Describes chernobyl as the largest uncontrolled radioactive release ever recorded in history. it was an accident that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions left with radiation poisoning.
- Explains that chernobyl holds the record for largest nuclear incident in the world. the steam explosion alone released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere and dozens of hazardous isotopes and chemicals.
- Describes how chernobyl nuclear scientists were instructed to run a routine check on reactor 4 to determine how long the turbines would spin and provide power to the primary circulating pumps.
- Explains that the radiation caused deformities in newborn babies, and many pregnant women requested abortions even in areas where it was illegal.
- Explains that chernobyl radiation affected wildlife, crops, water, livestock, and more. the effects on the forest are still a problem nearly 30 years after the meltdown.
- Explains that the rbmk-1000 reactor that ruptured and exploded that night was remade and corrected. soviet reactor designs were vastly improved and modifications were developed to overcome deficiencies.
- Explains that the 'exclusion zone' is still affected by radiation after the chernobyl meltdown on reactor 4. the area is overgrown with greenery, wild animals, and deteriorated pieces of the past.
- Explains that the citizens of ukraine are neglected by the government and given very little to support themselves. the people living in chernobyl have contracted a variety of diseases and are forced to grow their own crops.
- Explains that ukraine and russia have been increasing hostilities since the chernobyl incident. a $2.1 billion construction project was planned to seal off the still-leaking reactor.
- Opines that chernobyl was a tragic event that impacted lives all around europe. it released record amounts of radiation, affected millions of lives, called for thousands of abortion requests, and destroyed wild life.
1743 wordsRead More - The Chernobyl Disasteranalytical essayOn April 26, 1986 the worlds worst nuclear disaster happened just outside the town of Pripyat. Located not too far from the capital city Kiev, Ukraine. According to History.com, More than 70,000 people have suffered from the effects of this disaster. Along with much of the land (18 square miles) around that area will not be habitable for the next 150 years, forcing as many as 150,000 citizens to re-locate permanently. At the time of the explosion, Chernobyl was the largest and the oldest nuclear power plant in the world. With four 1,000 megawatt reactors, one reactor explosion and meltdown could affect hundreds, if not thousands of people. Still, the soviet government tried to cover it up or hide this from its own people, as well as the rest of the world. The Soviet Union initially reported the death of two individuals and requested advice for fight graphite fires. Even as Sweden was starting to pick up dangerous levels of radioactivity, the Soviet Union continued to not take responsibility and warn surrounding nations. It wasn't until years later that the full story is released to the public.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that chernobyl was the largest and oldest nuclear power plant in the world at the time of the explosion. the soviet government tried to cover it up or hide it from its own people.
- Explains that workers at the plant were performing tests on the system. they shut off the emergency safety systems and the cooling system, against established regulations, in preparation for the tests.
- Describes how failure to stop the test resulted in a ball of radioactive fire billowing into the sky, along with 1,000 ft. flames. more than 30,000 people living in pripyat weren't evacuated until 36 hours after the explosion.
- Concludes that the history channel closed the article describing the clean-up, stating that 200 people were directly exposed and that 31 had died immediately at chernobyl.
- Describes the questions that will hopefully be answered by the end of the paper.
- Introduces adam higginbotham, a writer for the observer, to chernobyl 20 years on.
- Analyzes how february snow has settled deeply around a ferris wheel no one has ever ridden. the clock above the municipal swimming pool remains frozen at six minutes to 12
- Analyzes how higginbotham writes about valeri sluckij, who is the father of the family that was evacuated within the 40-minute notice.
- Opines that the subsequent efforts to contain the results of the disaster would involve more than half a million men and women. many of them were subjected to enormous doses of radiation.
- Narrates how higginbotham spoke with alexander yuvchenko, the chief mechanical engineer of the no 4 reactor department.
- Narrates how yuvchenko ran outside to see what had happened to reactor no 4.
- Explains that chernobyl is still off limits and dangerous, but some parts are being opened up to the public for tours. the tours are provided to help an individual come to a better understanding about the world.
- Explains that the international atomic energy agency's book, "environmental consequences of the chernobyl accident and their remediation: twenty years of experience," answers this question.
- Analyzes how the ussr authorities introduced short- and long-term countermeasures to reduce the effects of the environmental contamination after the chernobyl accident.
- Analyzes how the black bird of chernobyl is one of the most popular paranormal stories. many people during their stay at the hospital reported terrifying nightmares about the bird.
- Explains that there have been reports of ufo sightings during the explosions, and a journalist captured one again hovering over the disaster zone.
- Describes some cultural impacts of the chernobyl disaster, such as the s.t.a.l.k.e.r series and call of duty 4: modern warfare.
- Concludes that chernobyl was a tragedy that cost thousands of lives and affected an entire region of that world. they also love the s.t.a.l.k.e.r series.
1381 wordsRead More