Chernobyl Disaster - Global Coverage and Reaction - Essay Example

Topic: Chernobyl Disaster Explanation of the Disaster Chernobyl nuclear power plant faced an accident on April, 26th 1986. The accident is known by its severity (World Nuclear Association 2011). Chernobyl is located in Ukraine. The nuclear power plant of the Chernobyl was considered a major power plant of the country and people love their association with the power plant. Chernobyl disaster happened due to overheating of the core, which resulted in the core meltdown. The meltdown of the core exposed the radioactive matter to the outer environment and it was also carried far away by wind. People were forced to leave the city as quickly as they could. At first, people were not informed by the accident but after some time, the news of the disaster spread widely. The radioactive materials from the reactors were found hazardous to the people and other living beings of the place. The persons who were quite near the power plant or working inside the power plant faced the high exposure of radioactive materials. Only two workers had lost their lives, when accident happened but the accident caused severe damages to the people nearby the place of accident and a large number of people had suffered from cancer and died after the accident (World Nuclear Association 2011). The radioactive ash from the reactor had two parts. One part of the ash contained very small particles which were carried away by the wind. The other part of the ash contained a bit thick particles and could remain hazardous for many hundreds of years. The disaster had endangered more lives as compared to any other such incident. Belarus, the place nearest to Chernobyl, had been affected more than any other region from the radiations, spread as the result of Chernobyl disaster (World Nuclear Association 2011). Reasons behind the Disaster Chernobyl nuclear power plant consisted of four nuclear power units, where the two major units 1 and 2 were completed to generate power in 1977 and units 3 and 4 worked in 1983. Graphite is used as a moderator to maintain the speed of the reaction and an area of 22km was dedicated, where a lake was constructed. The reactors were cooled by the utilization of lake water. The accident happened at the 4th nuclear reactor which had been working for almost three years. The reactor no four was made with high precision and a lot of instrumentation was utilized to precisely measure different functionalities. A nuclear power plant is incomplete without the implementation of a cooling system. The cooling system is employed to draw the decay heat away from the reactor core. Water is utilized mostly as a coolant in the nuclear reactors. On 26th, April 1986, the water pumps, which were used to maintain the temperature of the core, were stopped for some time to verify that the backup power system to power the water pumps is working properly. In this little while the temperature of the core was raised but the backup power system did not worked. Then it was tried to normally start the cooling pumps but in vain. The temperature of the core exceeded to an uncontrollable level which blew the thick steel roof of the core with a massive amount of heat and unused radioactive material. Chernobyl power complex had lacked one of the most important safety features that are employed in modern nuclear reactors. Containment cooling method, that is considered when there is an uncontrollable situation at the nuclear reactor, prevents the radiations from spreading in the atmosphere. At the Chernobyl, there must be a containment cooling system which could reduce the spreading of the radiation material. The authorities like government should emphasize more on safety features rapture than generating high profits. The Chernobyl nuclear reactors had lacked other safety measures, active and passive cooling techniques must be there to meet the uncontrollable situations. There were construction errors, like the pillars that were to be placed horizontally were not present there at the reactor building (Schaffer 2003). Parties Involved behind the Disaster The test that was carried to check the security measures proved that the reactor had not equipped with delicate safety equipment. Though, it was a routine test but the workers had not noticed the increase in the temperature. At first, the flow of water was increased which reduced the generation of steam and thus the power. The worker at the reactor increased the thermal power to maintain the generation of steam. The whole scenario increased the pressure of the steam and the temperature of the reactor. So the two persons took the whole matter lightly and thus the tragic accident happened. Engineering Ethics In the Chernobyl disaster, the ethics was kept aside and no one accepted the lacking of the safety measures. Construction errors, less safety features and lack of communication between the staff and other people are the problems which are there at the Chernobyl power complex (Schaffer 2003). There were both the technological as well as social problems there at the Chernobyl. The authorities had not learnt any lesson from the three mile accident. They kept silent without concerning about the lives of the people living around the complex (Schaffer 2003). Even when the accident happened, the people were not immediately informed. The food and dairy products from the vicinity were used for about a week from the day of the accident (Schaffer 2003). In the Chernobyl disaster, the devastation of the disaster is increased due to the miscommunication and lack of Ethics. If the authorities would have fooled the ethics, a large number of lives would have been saved. Global Coverage and Reaction Nuclear power stations, after the Chernobyl disaster, had adopted more safety features. Passive and active cooling methods have a worth now a day. Now, before constructing a nuclear power station, authorities have to think many times. Location of a reactor is decided carefully and authorities must have to follow certain code of ethics. The codes of ethics are designed to ensure that there will be less chance of an accident and if in case any accident happens, it is the complete responsibility of the authorities to pay for the damages. Containment cooling techniques are utilized now a day to ensure that there will be a core cooling system in case of any emergency (International Atomic Agency 2006). References International Atomic Energy Agency. Passive Safety Systems and Natural Circulation in Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants. July 2006. Retrieved on 27th May 2011 from http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1624_web.pdf Schaffer, Brad. Chernobyl Disaster. Engineering Ethics. December 2003. Retrieved on 27th May 2011 from http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~brs32/PHIL%20315.pdf World Nuclear Association. Chernobyl Accident. April 2011. Retrieved on 27th May 2011 from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html Read More