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The Beginnig
On April 25 and 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred in what is now northern Ukraine, with the explosion and fire of a reactor at a nuclear power plant. The incident, which was kept a secret, was a watershed moment for both the Cold War and the history of nuclear power. -
The Truth
Disclosure of the nuclear accident was seen as a significant political risk, but by then it was too late, after having denied it, on April 28, the Soviets briefly announced the accident. -
The World
The world quickly realized that it was witnessing a historic event. Up to 30 percent of Chernobyl's 190 metric tons of uranium was now in the atmosphere, and the USSR eventually evacuated 335,000 people, and set a 30-kilometer "exclusion zone" around the reactor. -
After The Accident
In principle, there were 28 killed after the accident, while more than 100 were injured. The United Nations Scientific Committee for the Study of the Effects of Atomic Radiation has reported that more than 6,000 children and adolescents developed thyroid cancer after exposure to radiation from the incident; however, some experts have disputed this claim. -
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The Future
Today, the remains of the reactor are housed within a massive steel containment structure, installed in late 2016. Containment efforts and monitoring continue and the cleanup is expected to continue until 2065.
