Q: What was the Chernobyl disaster?

The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear accident in history. It happened in 1986 at the VI Lenin Nuclear Power Station near the towns of Chernobyl and PripyatA city in northern Ukraine that has been abandoned since 1986, due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. in northern Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.

Today, a 1,000 square mile exclusion zone remains in place around the site. Scientists estimate the area will not be habitable for up to 20,000 years. 

Q: How did the accident happen?

On 25 April 1986, workers planned to test whether the fourth reactor would still be cooled if the plant lost power. But key safety protocols were violated, and on 26 April a power surge caused a chain reaction. An explosion exposed the nuclear core and started fires. The explosion sent 400 times more radioactive material into the sky than the HiroshimaA Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in World War II. atomic bomb. 

The USSR did not acknowledge the disaster until several days later when Sweden noticed increased radiation levels. It took 36 hours to begin evacuating Pripyat.  

Q: What were the consequences?

Trees turned red and died. Belarus lost 20% of its agricultural land. An estimated 6,000 adolescents developed thyroid cancer due to radiation exposure, although scientists continue to debate the cost to human health.

Many believe the disaster was the real cause of the USSR's collapse. The union's then-leader Mikhail Gorbachev later said: "Chernobyl revealed itself as the symptom of a corrupt and failing system rather than a technological catastrophe."

Today, the fourth reactor is inside a massive steel containment structure, fitted in 2016. It needs constant monitoring. 

Q: Why has Russia captured Chernobyl?

On 24 February, Russian forces invading Ukraine took control of the power plant. Experts believe the most likely explanation is Chernobyl's location. "Chernobyl is the shortest route from Russia to Kyiv," says one security expert. "The facility is not the goal." 

But others have suggested that Russia may want to secure the site to prevent it from being damaged during fighting or use it as a place to fire missiles from, knowing that the Ukrainians would not risk firing back. 

Q: Does it pose a risk?

Last Wednesday, Chernobyl lost power. Ukraine's foreign minister warned that within two days, the cooling systems would stop and radiation could begin leaking. But the UN nuclear watchdog said there was no need for immediate concern. 

Nuclear experts are worried about the workers stuck at the plant with little food or medicine, and their ability to run the equipment under great stress. 

Q: What happens next? 

Ukrainian intelligence officials have claimed that Russia is planning to attack the power station and blame the resulting catastrophe on Ukraine. But no one knows for sure what the Russian forces are intending to do next. 

Scientists say the threat from nuclear power plants continues as long as missiles are falling. "It's important to not have any fighting near these facilities," says nuclear physicist Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress. "It's a no-brainer."