what happened in chernobyl

The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The disaster happened during a flawed safety test on reactor number 4, where operators shut down critical safety systems and allowed the reactor to run at very low power, leading to an uncontrollable chain reaction. This caused two massive explosions that destroyed the reactor core and blew off its heavy steel and concrete lid, releasing large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The explosion and the resulting fires caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release in civilian history, affecting many parts of Europe, especially Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Two workers died immediately, and 28 emergency responders and plant workers died within a few months due to acute radiation syndrome. The radioactive contamination forced the evacuation of about 350,000 people, including the entire nearby town of Pripyat. Long- term health effects included thousands of thyroid cancer cases, though beyond this, major public health impacts attributable to radiation exposure have been limited according to some studies. The accident exposed serious flaws in the reactor design and operator training and highlighted the consequences of the Soviet Union’s lack of safety culture during the Cold War. Efforts to contain the catastrophe included constructing a concrete and steel sarcophagus around the destroyed reactor to limit further radioactive leakage. Overall, the Chernobyl disaster remains a profound example of nuclear safety failure with lasting social, environmental, and political consequences.