April 26th - The Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster

On this date in 1986, a power excursion occurred at the fourth unit of Chernobyl nuclear power station, located in the northern region of Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union. The incident caused a steam explosion, destruction of the reactor, and severe contamination of the environment by radionuclides released from the reactor fuel. Thirty-one people were killed, two hundred and three were hospitalized for acute radiation sickness. One hundred and thirty-five thousand people were evacuated, forty-nine thousand from the nearby town of Pripyat, where many the employees from the reactor lived.

The catastrophic industrial accident was hidden from the world until radiation levels set off alarms in Sweden, over 1,000 km from the Chernobyl plant. News quickly spread, and the story became a case study in crisis management, evacuations, investigations, and environmental and human impact assessment.

It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history both in terms of cost and casualties and is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at seven — the maximum severity — on the Internal Nuclear Even Scale. It underlined the need to identify, assess, and manage risks from complex industrial activities to maximize safety and minimize detrimental effects to works, the general public, and the environment.

In February 2009, IN-D-TEL had a fact-finding trip to the disaster area. It provided us with a greater understanding of the risks and opportunities with uranium mining, nuclear energy, business continuity and crisis management. Below are a few photos to share with the Geiger Counter in hand that provided the radiation levels throughout the day.

A memorial outside Reactor #4.

Walking through the main square in Pripyat. Straight ahead is the town hall, with grocery store and shopping centre on either side.

We entered a back door at the town hall and walked into the back stage of the auditorium. The disaster occurred April 26, when they were starting to get ready for the May Day Parades. Large posters of Communist Leaders such as the Minister of Defence and the President of Kazakhstan are leaning against the wall. Radiation levels are much lower inside.

A ball still on the hardwood floor of the school’s gymnasium.

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