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Construction of power plant begins
Ukraine made a switch to nuclear power. They felt it would be superior to all other forms of energy. little did they know that nuclear power takes a lot of work. so when they hired not the smartest people, disaster struck. And many people died -
They decided what type of reactor Chernobyl would be.
Discussions take place in Kiev about the type of nuclear plant to be built at Chernobyl. Deputy Chief Engineer at Chernobyl proposes construction of Pressurized Water Reactors. He informs the Ukraine Minister of Energy, that an RBMK releases forty times more radiation than a PWR. The scientist Alekzandrov opposes this, saying that the RBMK was not only the safest reactor, but also produced the cheapest electricity as well. For this reason it was decided to build the RBMK pressure tube reactors. -
The first of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plants four reactors is ready to operate
According to data held by the KGB, design deviations and violations of construction and assembly are occurring in the construction of the 2nd generating unit. This disregard lead to the ultimate inevitable meltdown of the entire plant. Killing 30 people. And changing more peoples lives for yeas to come. -
Mini meltdown
A partial core meltdown occurs in reactor No. 1. The extent of the accident was not made public until 1985. The reactor was repaired and put back into operation within months. This should've been their warning sign to shut it all down. But they were more worried about pride and decided to keep going. -
The first test happens
The reactor was running at full power with normal operation. Steam power was directed to both turbines of the power generators. Slowly the operators began to reduce power for the test. The purpose of the test was to observe the dynamics of the RM-BK reactor with limited power flow.Twelve hours after power reduction was initiated the reactor reached 50% power. Now only one turbine was needed to take in the decreased amount of steam caused by the power decrease and turbine #2 was switched off -
Emergency reinsertion of all control rods.
As the temperature of the water became too high, bubbles reached the main circulation pumps. The coolant started boiling in the reactor, and the reactor power slowly increased. Toptunov reports a power issue to Akimov. He presses the AZ5 button, class5 emergency. The control rods, according to the synchro indicators, seized at a depth of 2 meters instead of 7. Akimov disconnected the clutches of the control rod servos to let the rods descend into the core, but the rods did not move. -
Explosion
The reactor reaches 120 times its full power. All the radioactive fuel disintegrates, and pressure from all of the excess steam which was supposed to go to the turbines broke every one of the pressure tubes leading to an explosion. The 1000 ton lid above the fuel elements is lifted by the first explosion. The release of radiation starts. Air reaches the reactor and the oxygen results in a graphite fire. The metal of the fuel tubes reacts to the water and goes boom. -
The anti-fire place was called
Akimov called the fire station and the chiefs of electrical and other departments. Asking for electrical power for coolant pumps, removal of hydrogen from hydrogen generators, and other emergency procedures to stabilize the plant and contain the damage. Internal telephone lines were disabled. Akimov sent Palamarchuk to contact Gorbachenko. Kudryavtsev and Proskuryakov returned from the reactor and reported its state to Akimov and Dyatlov. -
state of alert.
Buses begin to arrive in Pripyat. They wait for the command to evacuate the city.The operation of Units 1 and 2 is stopped at 01.13 and 02.13 hours respectively, twenty-four hours after the start of the accident at Block 4. Pikalov sets out in a truck fitted out with radiation apparatus. He rams through the closed gates and stops at the plant to measure the radiation. He establishes that the graphite in the reactor is burning, and that an enormous amount of radiation and heat is being given off. -
Moscow TV news announce that an accident has occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
"Measures are being taken to eliminate consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to those affected. A government commission has been set up”.All radio broadcasts run by the state were then replaced with classical music, which was a common method of preparing the public for an announcement of a tragedy that had taken place. Scientist teams were armed and placed on alert as instructions were awaited. -
word gets spread
Staff at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant detect a dangerous surge in radioactivity. Initially picked up when a routine check reveals that the soles shoes worn by a radiological safety engineer at the plant were radioactive. A Danish nuclear research laboratory announces that an MCA (maximum credible accident) has occurred in the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. They mention a complete meltdown of one of the reactors and that all radioactivity has been released. -
Reliable News
The sixth item on the main television evening news program, Vremya, says that 2 people died during the accident. A portion of the reactor building was destroyed. Residents of Pripyat and three nearby towns were evacuated.The first real information in the western world came on Tuesday morning. When a powerful American reconnaissance satellite provided Washington analysts with photos of Chernobyl. They were shocked to see the roof blown off above the reactor and the glowing mass still smoking. -
Radioactivity eats the floor
Two floors of bubbler pools beneath the reactor served as a large water supply for the emergency cooling pumps. After the disaster, the pools and the basement were flooded because of ruptured cooling water pipes and accumulated firefighting water. The smoldering graphite, fuel and other material above at a temperature of more than 2192°F,started to burn through the reactor floor and mixed with molten concrete from the reactor lining, creating a radioactive semiliquid material comparable to lava. -
Emissions of radionuclides drop from 8 million to 150,000
Fluid nitrogen is pumped from along pipes from Unit 1 to freeze the earth under the reactor and prevent a steam explosion. The first extensive report on the situation appears in Pravda. Schools in Gomel and Kiev are closed, all children are sent elsewhere. Bringing the total number of people forced to leave to 500.000. 140.000 of which are not allowed to return home. Kiev radio finally, eleven days late, warns its audience not to eat leafy vegetables and to stay indoors as much as possible. -
people die and get awarded.
Akimov dies having received radiation burns to 100% of his body. A senior reactor operator, at the controls in the control room at the time of the explosion, received fatal dose during attempts to restart the feed water flow into the reactor. Posthumously awarded the Courage Order of third degree. The fire is extinguished, but the temperature in the reactor is still rather high. Meanwhile a Ukrainian government official states: reactor is still burning and fire fighters are not stopping. -
The Politbyuro to sentence Viktor Petrovich Bryukanov to 10 years in prison.
Having been exposed to large doses of radiation Bryukhanov was suffering from radiation sickness and due to bad health he was released in 1991. To this day he claims that there was nothing wrong with the reactors and that there was a technical error with only on reactor. He was considered a scapegoat by many. According to the W.H.O., 240,000 recovery workers were called upon between 1986 and 1987. Altogether, special certificates were issued for 600,000 people making them liquidators. -
A concrete roof (“sarcophagus”) is completed over the fourth reactor. It is built to protect the environment from radiation for at least 30 years. 300,000 tons of concrete and 6,000 tons of metal constructions were utilised.
"We estimated the situation and saw that the reactor core fragments were scattered over a wide area. Add to that atmospheric movement. So, we realised that there was every reason to cover whatever could be the source of further radioactive discharges. A shelter had to be built. It was another matter, what kind of shelter. But covering it was a must."
-Evgeny Akimov, a nuclear engineer from the Chernobyl rescue operation -
Mini-disaster 2.0
A fire breaks out in the turbine hall of Reactor 2. The fire began in Turbine 4 while it was idle for repairs. A faulty switch caused a surge of current to the turbine, igniting insulating material on some electrical wiring.This subsequently led to a leak of hydrogen, used as a turbine coolant, into the turbine hall which created the conditions for fire to start in the roof and for one of the trusses supporting the roof to collapse. -
Safety Competition in Ukraine
The Ukraine Government hold an international competition for proposals to replace the hastily constructed sarcophagus over reactor 4.
394 entries are received however only one proposes a sliding arch approach. A subsequent study confirms that by using this method there is much less chance of the construction workers receiving a harmful dose of radiation. -
Reactor 3, the last functioning reactor, is shut down.
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New safety thingy
The project contract for the New Safe Confinement (shelter over reactor 4) is finally signed, with French consortium Novarka constructing the 150 by 257 meter arched structure. Construction costs are estimated at 432 million euros with a project time of five years. -
scrappers tried stealing poison metal
Four residents of the Kyiv region were found guilty of trying to removed 15 tons of contaminated, radioactive scrap metal from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. A judge in the Ivankov District Court of Kyiv found the individuals in violation of the requirements of radiation safety. Radiation from this scrap was found to be hundreds of times higher than permissible limits. -
complete shutdown
The zone is closed to tourists as trips are suspended.
The prosecutor general’s office conducts checks and rules that the Emergencies Ministry has broken the law by operating trips as well as making an unhealthy profit. With every tourist to the zone paying around a US $100 for entry the Ministry has a turnover of millions dollars every year. -
A section of power plant roof collapses after heavy snowfall. The “sarcophagus”, 50 metres away, is unaffected.
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Estimated completion date of the New Safe Confinement Shelter over reactor 4.
