Ukraine - Belarus 2006 Chernobyl

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On April 26th 1986 the World's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine). The Chernobyl nuclear power plant located 80 miles north of Kiev had 4 reactors and while testing reactor number 4 numerous safety procedures were disregarded. At 1:23am the chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete lid. A plume of radioactive cerium, caesium, zirconium, niobium...
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On April 26th 1986 the World's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine). The Chernobyl nuclear power plant located 80 miles north of Kiev had 4 reactors and while testing reactor number 4 numerous safety procedures were disregarded. At 1:23am the chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete lid. A plume of radioactive cerium, caesium, zirconium, niobium and ruthenium, along with americium, strontium 90 and plutonium soared 1500 meters high, drifting over Ukraine and Belarus, then to Sandinavia and central Europe. The Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 30 km, 135,00 people had to be evacuated from the towns of Pripyat, Chernobyl and various villages. The environmental damage have been immense. In Belarus, which received more than 70% of the fallout, about 22 per cent of the land was, still is, contaminated with caesium 137.
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