Knowra Chernobyl disaster Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a 1986 accident at a Soviet nuclear power plant in Ukraine. A reactor explosion and fire released radioactive material, prompting mass evacuation and long-term contamination.
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant : A nuclear power station near Pripyat in Soviet Ukraine, whose fourth reactor exploded in 1986. The disaster began in Unit 4 of this station during a safety test.
Pripyat : A Soviet city built for workers at the Chernobyl plant, evacuated after the 1986 accident. Its residents were evacuated roughly a day after the explosion.
Chernobyl safety test : A test at Chernobyl Unit 4 intended to assess whether turbine momentum could power emergency pumps after shutdown. The test was underway when the reactor entered an unstable operating state.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster : A 2011 nuclear accident in Japan triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that disabled power and cooling systems. Unlike Chernobyl, Fukushima followed a natural disaster and involved reactors with containment structures.
RBMK : A Soviet graphite-moderated, water-cooled nuclear reactor design used at Chernobyl. The RBMK’s control-rod design and operating characteristics contributed to the accident.
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone : A restricted area established around the Chernobyl plant after the accident and mass evacuation. It remains a central landscape of contamination, relocation, and restricted access.
Anatoly Dyatlov : A Soviet engineer who served as deputy chief engineer at the Chernobyl plant during the accident. He supervised the Unit 4 test and became a central figure in accounts of its conduct.
Three Mile Island accident : A 1979 partial nuclear meltdown at a Pennsylvania power plant that caused limited radioactive release. Its damaged core remained largely contained, unlike Chernobyl’s burning, exposed reactor.
Reactor core : The part of a nuclear reactor where fission sustains a chain reaction and releases heat. Power surged inside Unit 4’s core before explosions destroyed the reactor.
Radioactive contamination : The presence of radioactive substances in places or materials where they can expose people or ecosystems. Fallout from the reactor spread contamination across Ukraine, Belarus, and beyond.
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