Nuclear power is recognized as one of the safest and most promising. But in April 1986, the world shuddered from an incredible disaster: a reactor exploded at a nuclear power plant near the city of Pripyat. The question of how many victims of Chernobyl exists and is still the subject of discussion, since there are different evaluation criteria and different versions. There is no doubt, however, that the scale of this disaster is extraordinary. So what is the actual number of Chernobyl victims? What is the reason for the tragedy?
How it was
On the night of April 26, 1986 , an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant . As a result of the accident, the reactor was completely destroyed, part of the power unit also turned into ruins. Radioactive elements were emitted into the atmosphere - iodine, strontium and cesium. The explosion started a fire, a molten mass of metal, fuel and concrete poured into the lower rooms under the reactor. In the first hours, the victims of Chernobyl were small: the employees on duty were killed. But the insidiousness of the nuclear reaction lies in the fact that it has a long, delayed effect. Therefore, the total number of victims continued to increase every day. The increase in casualties is also associated with illiterate behavior of the authorities in carrying out liquidation actions. In the early days, many forces of special services, troops, police were thrown to eliminate the danger and extinguish the fire, but nobody really bothered to ensure their safety. Therefore, the number of victims increased many times, although this could have been avoided. But here the factor played a role that no one was ready for such a situation, there were no precedents for such large-scale accidents, so a realistic scenario of actions was not developed.
How does a nuclear reactor work?
The essence of the nuclear power plant is based on a nuclear reaction, during which heat is released. A nuclear reactor provides a controlled, self-sustaining fission chain reaction. As a result of this process, energy is released, which is converted into electricity. The reactor was first launched in 1942 in the United States under the supervision of renowned physicist E. Fermi. The operating principle of the reactor is based on a chain reaction of uranium decay, during which neutrons appear, all this is accompanied by the release of gamma radiation and heat. In its natural form, the decay process involves the fission of atoms, which increases exponentially. But in the reactor there is a controlled reaction, therefore the process of fission of atoms is limited. Modern types of reactors are maximally protected by several types of protective systems, and therefore are considered safe. However, practice shows that the harmlessness of such devices cannot always be guaranteed, therefore there is always the risk of accidents resulting in people dying. Chernobyl victims are a prime example. After this catastrophe, the reactor protection system was significantly improved; biological sarcophagi appeared, which, according to the developers, are extremely reliable.
The effect of radiation on humans
During the decay of uranium, gamma radiation is emitted, which is commonly called radiation. This term refers to the process of ionizing radiation, that is, penetrating through all tissues. As a result of ionization, free radicals are formed, which are the cause of mass destruction of tissue cells. There is a norm by which organic tissues successfully resist. But radiation tends to accumulate throughout life. Damage to tissues by radiation is called radiation, and the disease resulting from this is called radiation. There are two types of exposure - external and internal; in the second, radiation deactivation is possible (in small doses). With external exposure, rescue methods have not yet been created. The first victims of Chernobyl died from an acute form of radiation sickness precisely because of external exposure. The severity of radiation exposure also lies in the fact that it affects the genes and the consequences of infection most often negatively affect the descendants of the patient. So, in survivors of infection, a multiple increase in the birth of children with various genetic diseases is often recorded. And the children, victims of Chernobyl, born to the liquidators and who visited Pripyat, are a terrifying example.
Causes of the disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was preceded by work on the emergency run-out test. The test was scheduled at the time of the shutdown of the reactor. On April 25, a planned shutdown of the fourth power unit was to occur. It should be noted that stopping a nuclear reaction is an extremely complex process and not fully understood. In this case, the “run-out” mode should have been “rehearsed” for the fourth time. All previous attempts ended in various failures, but then the scale of the experiments was much smaller. In this case, the process did not go as planned. The reaction did not slow down, as expected, the power of the energy emission increased uncontrollably, as a result, the security systems could not stand it. Within 10 seconds of the last alarm, the reaction power became catastrophic, and several explosions occurred that destroyed the reactor.
The reasons for this event are still being studied. The emergency investigation committee concluded that it was due to gross violations of instructions by station personnel. They decided to conduct an experiment, despite all the dangerous warnings. Subsequent investigations showed that the scale of the disaster could have been reduced if management had acted in accordance with safety rules and if the authorities had not kept silent about the fact and danger of the disaster.
It also later became clear that the reactor was completely unprepared for the planned experiments. In addition, no coordinated interaction was established between the personnel serving the reactor, which prevented the station staff from stopping the experiment on time. Chernobyl, the number of victims of which continues to be established, has become a milestone for nuclear energy throughout the world.
Events and First Day Victims
At the time of the accident, only a few people were in the reactor zone. The first victims of Chernobyl - two employees of the station. One died instantly, his body could not even be removed from under the 130-ton debris, the second died of burns the next morning. A special detachment of firefighters was sent to the place of ignition. Thanks to their efforts, the fire was stopped. They prevented the fire from reaching the third power unit and prevented even greater destruction. But 134 people (rescuers and station employees) received a huge dose of radiation and 28 people died in the next few months. Of the personal protective equipment, the rescuers had only a tarpaulin uniform and mittens. Major L. Telyatnikov, who took over the fire extinguishing, underwent a bone marrow transplant operation, and this helped him survive. Car drivers and ambulances were least affected, arriving when rescuers showed acute signs of radiation sickness. It would be possible to avoid these victims if rescuers even had instruments for measuring radiation and basic means of protection.
Actions of the authorities
The scale of the disaster would probably be smaller if not for the actions of the authorities and the media. The first two days, radiation reconnaissance was conducted, and people continued to live in Pripyat. The media was forbidden to talk about the accident; 36 short hours after the accident two short information messages appeared on television. Moreover, people were not informed about the threat, no necessary deactivation of infection was carried out. When the whole world was anxiously watching the air currents from the USSR, in Kiev people went to the May Day demonstration. All information about the explosion was classified, even the doctors and security officials did not know what happened and on what scale. Later, the authorities justified themselves by saying that they did not want to sow panic. Only a few days later, the evacuation of the inhabitants of the region began. But if the authorities had begun to act earlier, the victims of Chernobyl, whose photos appeared in the media only a few weeks later, would have been much smaller.
Disaster relief
The infection zone was cordoned off from the very beginning and the initial elimination of the danger began. The highest dose of radiation was received by the first 600 firefighters, who were sent to deactivate radiation. They bravely fought to prevent the fire from spreading, and the nuclear reaction to resume. The territory was bombarded with a special mixture that prevented the heating of the reactor. In order to prevent reheating from the reactor, water was pumped out, a tunnel was dug under it, which protected from the penetration of molten masses into water and soil. For several months, a sarcophagus was built around the reactor, and dams along the Pripyat River were erected. People traveling to Chernobyl often did not understand the whole danger, at that time there were a lot of volunteers who wanted to take part in cleaning up the territory. Some artists, including Alla Pugacheva, gave concerts to the liquidators.
The true extent of the disaster
The total number of "liquidators" for the entire period of work amounted to about 600 thousand people. Of these, about 60 thousand people died, 200 thousand became disabled. Although, according to the government, the victims of Chernobyl, whose photos today can be seen on the sites dedicated to the accident, made up a much smaller number, only 200 people were officially recognized as deceased from the consequences of the liquidation in 20 years. The 30-kilometer territory is officially recognized as the exclusion zone. But experts say that the affected area is much larger and covers more than 200 square kilometers.
Help for Chernobyl victims
The state has taken responsibility for the life and health of Chernobyl victims. Those who liquidated the consequences of the accident, who lived and worked in the resettlement zone were entitled to benefits, including pension, free sanatorium treatment, and medicines. But in reality, these benefits were almost ridiculous. Indeed, many people have to receive expensive treatment, for which pensions are clearly not enough. In addition, it was not easy to get the category of "Chernobyl". This led to the fact that many charitable foundations appeared in the country and abroad that support Chernobyl, money donated by people, a monument was built to the victims of Chernobyl in Bryansk, numerous operations were carried out, benefits were paid to relatives of the deceased.
New generations of Chernobyl victims
In addition to the direct participants and victims of the Chernobyl tragedy, radiation victims are children of liquidators and IDPs from the infected zone. According to the official version, among Chernobyl victims of the second generation, the percentage of unhealthy children slightly exceeds the number of the same pathologies among other residents of Russia. But statistics say something else. Chernobyl children are much more likely to suffer from genetic diseases, for example, Down's disease, and are more susceptible to cancer.
Chernobyl today
A few months later, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was put into operation. Only in 2000, the Ukrainian authorities permanently stopped its reactors. A new sarcophagus began to be erected above the reactor in 2012, and construction will be completed in 2018. Today, the level of radiation in the exclusion zone has decreased significantly, but still 200 times higher than the maximum permissible dose for humans. At the same time, animals continue to live in Chernobyl, plants grow and people go there on excursions, despite the danger of infection, some even hunt there and pick mushrooms and berries, although this is strictly forbidden. Chernobyl victims, photos of infected places, do not impress modern people, they do not realize the whole danger of radiation and therefore consider visiting the Zone as an adventure.
Memory of Chernobyl victims
Today, the tragedy is gradually becoming a thing of the past, less and less people remember the dead, think about the victims. Although a large number of Chernobyl victims struggling with serious illnesses, with the ailments of children. Today, most often, is only the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Chernobyl - April 26 makes people and the media remember the tragedy.
The fate of nuclear energy in the world
The catastrophes of the 20th and 21st centuries at the Chernobyl and Fukushima NPPs raised the acute question of the need for a more serious approach to the use of nuclear energy. Today, about 15% of all energy comes from nuclear power plants, but many countries intend to increase this share. Since it is still one of the cheapest and safest ways to generate electricity. Chernobyl, whose accident victims became a reminder of caution, is now perceived as a distant past. But nevertheless, since the accident, the world has made significant progress in ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants.