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Chornobyl Disaster

Definition

The Chornobyl Disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986, at No. 4 reactor in the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat city in Ukraine (then part of USSR). It is considered one of the worst man-made catastrophes ever.

Analogy

Imagine leaving your stove's gas running without lighting it for hours and then suddenly igniting it - you'd get an enormous explosion. Similarly, due to design flaws and operator errors, there was an uncontrollable reaction which led to explosions and open-air fires releasing large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

Related terms

Radioactive Contamination: Unwanted presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids or gases (including human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirable.

Evacuation Zone: An area from which people are ordered to leave due to risk from natural disasters or man-made emergencies such as this one.

Nuclear Fallout: The residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast or a nuclear reactor containment breach, which can fall out of the sky and spread over large areas.