CHERNOBYL:

In the early hours of April 26, 1986 , a structurally defective Chernobyl nuclear power reactor near
Pripyat in Ukraine in the Soviet Union exploded. It caused the release of massive amounts of radioactive
particles into the atmosphere that extends over much of Western Europe and the USSR. 350,400 people
were evacuated and resettled in areas most severely contaminated regions in Belarus , Russia and
Ukraine .

The disaster began during a systems test when there was a power surge followed by an emergency and
a much larger peak in the output power shutdown. The reactor vessel broken, there was a series of
steam explosions , the moderator graphite and the reactor was exposed to air , causing a fire . The fire
sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere over a wide geographical area.

In terms of human deaths , the Chernobyl nuclear accident was one of the worst accidents of energy in
human history. Figures vary widely , but between 31 and 64 deaths have been directly attributed to the
incident, with estimates ranging up to 4,000 deaths among people exposed to the highest radiation
levels. Among those living in larger geographical areas , the number of those affected range from 30,000
to nearly a million premature cancer deaths .