How large an area was affected by the radioactive fallout? Some 150,000 square kilometres in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine are contaminated and stretch northward of the plant site as far as 500 kilometres. An area spanning 30 kilometres around the plant is considered
On April 26 in 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine failed. It was the worst nuclear accident in history and its reverberations have reached all the way to Australia. A power surge at the plant led to explosions, and a meltdown, which spewed massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
The radiation from Chernobyl spread extremely quickly. The disaster occurred just after 1am on April 26th. In the early morning on April 28th, a plant in Forsmark, Sweden, detected the radiation. That means that radioactive particles were travelling at around 25 kilometres an hour through the atmosphere.
Cizelj estimated a 30-kilometer radius.
In the immediate aftermath of an explosion, experts said the likely result would be widespread evacuations to escape an invisible radioactive cloud. However, the effect of a leak in radiation would probably be felt for years to come.
The 30-kilometre zone is estimated to be home to 197 samosely living in 11 villages as well as in the town of Chernobyl. This number is in decline, down from previous estimates of 314 in 2007 and 1,200 in 1986. These residents are senior citizens, with an average age of 63.
While it naturally fades over time, this can sometimes take thousands of years. Scientists have previously said, due to the huge amount of contamination in the Chernobyl area, the exclusion zone will not be habitable for many, many years.
How long can you stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? There are two exclusion zones in Chernobyl; a 10km inner and 30km outer Exclusion Zone. It is safe to stay in the outer Exclusion Zone overnight.
1. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Japan is one of the world's most radioactive places. Fukushima is still highly radioactive today.
The initial radiation pulse from a 1 KT device could cause 50% mortality from radiation exposure, to individuals, without immediate medical intervention, within an approximate ½ mile (790 m) radius. This radius increases to approximately ¾ mile (1200m) for a 10 KT detonation.
However, the releases affected large areas of Europe to some degree. Over 200 000 km2, of which 71% are in the three most affected countries (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine) were contaminated with caesium-137, which has a 30-year half-life.
The committee said $1.12 billion has been paid out in compensation to 116,000 people evacuated from the Chernobyl area in the Ukraine, about 600 miles southwest of Moscow. It said the figure did not include the construction of housing and other facilities for the evacuees.
The Fukushima event has been rated 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Even so, Japanese authorities estimate that radiation released at Fukushima is only 10 percent of the amount released from the Ukrainian plant.
Is Chernobyl reactor 4 still burning? Chernobyl reactor 4 is no longer burning. The reactor was originally covered after the disaster, but it resulted in a leak of nuclear waste and needed to be replaced.
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine remains one of the most radioactive areas of the world. On April 26, 1986, a meltdown of a reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant caused the world's worst nuclear disaster.
Chernobyl animals are mutants ...
Scientists have noted significant genetic changes in organisms affected by the disaster: According to a 2011 study in Biological Conservation, Chernobyl-caused genetic mutations in plants and animals increased by a factor of 20.
Living among radiation-resistant fauna are thousands of feral dogs, many of whom are descendants of pets left behind in the speedy evacuation of the area so many years ago.
To visit the Exclusion Zone, you must be dressed in closed clothing that covers all areas of the body as much as possible (long sleeve, long tight pants, comfortable shoes, preferably with thick soles), the headdress is welcome. Forbidden: shorts, skirts, dresses, slippers, sandals, high-heeled shoes.
Hiroshima had 46 kg of uranium while Chernobyl had 180 tons of reactor fuel. A reactor also builds up a huge amount of nuclear waste, over the weeks it is running. There is a lot of different waste products, but the worst are cesium, iodine and irradiated graphite moderators.
The official death toll directly attributed to Chernobyl that is recognized by the international community is just 31 people with the UN saying it could be 50. However, hundreds of thousands of “liquidators” were sent in to put out the fire at the nuclear power plant and clean up the Chernobyl site afterwards.
The radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki today is on a par with the extremely low levels of background radiation (natural radioactivity) present anywhere on Earth. It has no effect on human bodies.
A direct hit on the power plant's spent fuel pools or dry cask storage facilities could release substantially more radioactive material into the environment than the original meltdown and explosions in 1986 and thus cause an environmental disaster of global proportions.
It is concluded that the Chernobyl accident could have been much worse with 200 to 400 times the radiation consequences. This would have had severe social consequences as well.
In the very unlikely scenario that all four reactors exploded simultaneously, it would resort to chaos. Not only in terms of the fallout but ecologically and politically – and radioactive would have completely reshaped life over central and Eastern Europe virtually overnight.
The Fukushima accident was an accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi (“Number One”) nuclear power plant in Japan. It is the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation, behind the Chernobyl disaster.