CHERNOBYL

ACCIDENT SEQUENCE
BACKGROUND
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster involved the failure of the reactor's emergency core cooling
system (ECCS) to pump additional water into the core in case of a power loss. The reactor's
steam turbine could be used to generate the required electrical power to operate the ECCS via
feedwater pumps, but analysis indicated that there might be sufficient energy to provide
electrical power to run the coolant pumps for 45 seconds.

The test procedure was scheduled to take place during a controlled power-down of reactor
No. 4, which was preparatory to a planned maintenance outage. However, the authors were
unaware of the unusual RBMK-1000 reactor behaviour under the planned operating
conditions and considered it purely an electrical test of the generator. The test program called
for disabling the emergency core cooling system, a passive/active system of core cooling
intended to provide water to the core in a loss-of-coolant accident.

The test was conducted during the day-shift of 25 April 1986 as part of a scheduled reactor
shutdown. The day shift had been instructed in advance on the reactor operating conditions to
run the test, and a special team of electrical engineers was present to conduct the electrical
test once the correct conditions were reached. However, the Kiev electrical grid controller
requested that the further reduction of Chernobyl's output be postponed, as power was needed
to satisfy peak evening demand.

At 23:04, the Kiev grid controller allowed the reactor shutdown to resume, but the night shift
had very limited time to prepare for and carry out the experiment. Anatoly Dyatlov, deputy
chief-engineer of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, was present to direct the test, while
Unit Shift Supervisor Aleksandr Akimov was in charge of the Unit 4-night shift, and Leonid
Toptunov was the Senior Reactor Control Engineer responsible for the reactor's operational
regimen.
The test plan for a nuclear reactor was to gradually decrease power to 700-1000 MW, but
reactor poisoning occurred due to the reactor's production of xenon-135, a fission byproduct.
This caused reactor control to become more difficult, and the power control was switched
from local automatic regulators to automatic regulators. When power dropped to 500 MW,
the reactor was reduced to 5% of the minimum initial power level prescribed for the test. To
increase power, control-room personnel removed numerous control rods, and the reactor was
restored to 160 MW.

The operation of the reactor at low power levels was accompanied by unstable core
temperatures, coolant flow, and possibly neutron flux instability. The control room received
emergency signals regarding low levels in one half of the steam/water separator drums, and
personnel triggered rapid influxes of feedwater.

When a power level of 200 MW was reattained, preparation for the experiment continued, but
the power level was much lower than the prescribed 700 MW. Two additional main
circulating pumps were activated, lowering the overall core temperature and reducing
existing steam voids. The combined effect of these actions resulted in an extremely unstable
reactor configuration, with nearly all 211 control rods extracted and excessively high coolant
flow rates.

ACCIDENT

The Chernobyl disaster occurred when four of the eight main circulating pumps (MCP) were
powered by voltage from the coasting turbine, while the remaining four pumps received
electrical power from the grid. The steam to the turbines was shut off, causing a run-down of
the turbine generator. The diesel generators started and sequentially picked up loads, but the
momentum of the turbine generator decreased, leading to increased formation of steam voids
in the coolant flowing up through the fuel pressure tubes.

A scram (emergency shutdown) of the reactor was initiated at 01:23:40, starting when the
AZ-5 button of the reactor emergency protection system was pressed. The design of the
RBMK control rods, each with a graphite neutron moderator section attached to its end,
initially displaced neutron-absorbing water in the lower portion of the reactor with neutron-
moderating graphite, causing an initial increase in reaction rate in the lower part of the core.

A few seconds into the scram, a power spike occurred, and the core overheated, causing some
fuel rods to fracture. This led to a rapid increase in steam pressure, releasing fuel elements
into the coolant and rupturing the channels in which these elements were located.

A steam explosion appears to have been the next event, resulting in the destruction of the
reactor and the power unit building. This explosion destroyed the reactor casing, tearing off
and blasting the upper plate called the upper biological shield through the roof of the reactor
building. A second, more powerful explosion dispersed the damaged core and effectively
terminated the nuclear chain reaction, ejecting hot lumps of graphite moderator and causing a
graphite fire.

Possible causes for the second explosion

The Chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986 when a combustible material, bitumen, was used in
the construction of the reactor building and turbine hall, igniting at least five fires on the roof
of reactor No. 3. The chief of the night shift, Yuri Bagdasarov, wanted to shut down the
reactor immediately, but chief engineer Nikolai Fomin refused. Operators were given
respirators and potassium iodide tablets, but Bagdasarov decided to shut down the reactor.
Firefighters arrived to extinguish the fires, but were not informed of the dangerous
radioactivity of the smoke and debris. The firefighters were unaware of the radiation and
were unable to save the lives of the victims.
Immediate response

The Chernobyl disaster was a tragic event that occurred in 1986 when a combustible material,
bitumen, was used in the construction of the reactor building and turbine hall. This material
ignited at least five fires on the roof of reactor No. 3, which was still operating. The chief of
the night shift, Yuri Bagdasarov, wanted to shut down the reactor immediately, but chief
engineer Nikolai Fomin refused. The operators were given respirators and potassium iodide
tablets and told to continue working.

Fighters arrived to try to extinguish the fires, but they were not informed about the
dangerously radioactive smoke and debris. The core fire was thought to have been
extinguished by helicopters dropping more than 5,000 tonnes of sand, lead, clay, and neutron-
absorbing boron onto the burning reactor. However, virtually none of these materials reached
the core. Historians estimate that about 600 Soviet pilots risked dangerous levels of radiation
to fly the thousands of flights needed to cover reactor No. 4.

Radiation levels in the worst-hit areas of the reactor building were estimated to be 5.6
roentgens per second (R/s), equivalent to more than 20,000 roentgens per hour. Unprotected
workers received fatal doses in less than a minute in some areas. Due to inaccurate low
readings, the reactor crew chief Aleksandr Akimov assumed the reactor was intact,
disregarding evidence of pieces of graphite and reactor fuel lying around the building. Most,
including Akimov, died from radiation exposure within three weeks.

Accident investigation

The International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) was established by the IAEA in
1985 and produced two reports on Chernobyl, identifying an inadequate safety culture at
managerial and operational levels as a major factor.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Evacuation

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 caused widespread illness and radiation exposure in
the nearby city of Pripyat. The Ukrainian government did not receive prompt information
about the accident, as the plant was run by Moscow authorities. A commission was
established to investigate the accident, led by Valery Legasov, First Deputy Director of the
Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. They arrived at the power plant on 26 April, where
two people had died and 52 were hospitalized. The delegation found evidence of the reactor
being destroyed and high levels of radiation causing numerous cases of radiation exposure.
They ordered the evacuation of Pripyat on 27 April.

The evacuation zone was expanded to 30 kilometres (19 mi) after the accident, and the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone has remained ever since. Over the following
year, 135,000 long-term evacuees were found outside the zone, and between 1986 and 2000,
the number of permanently resettled persons from severely contaminated areas tripled to
approximately 350,000. The evacuation announcements emphasized the importance of
keeping people safe and healthy, with children being the top priority.

Official announcement

On 28 April, radiation alarms at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden triggered a
nuclear accident in the Soviet Union. The Swedish government initially denied the accident,
but after evacuating over 100,000 people, the full scale of the situation was realized. The
Soviet Union officially announced the accident in TV news programme Vremya, marking the
first time the Soviet Union officially announced a nuclear accident. The Soviet Union's tactic
of whataboutism was used to prepare the public for the announcement of a tragedy in the
USSR. Ukrainian state officials arrived at the disaster site and returned home, stopping at a
radiological checkpoint in Vilcha. On 30 April, the International Workers' Day celebrations
in Kiev were postponed due to normal radiological background levels. Several buildings in
Pripyat were left open for workers to use during the clean-up.

Core meltdown risk mitigation

Bubbler pools beneath the reactor served as a large water reservoir for emergency cooling
pumps and a pressure suppression system. After the disaster, the pools and basement were
flooded due to ruptured cooling water pipes and accumulated firefighting water. The
smouldering graphite, fuel, and other materials burned through the reactor floor, creating
corium, a radioactive semi-liquid material. The government commission directed the bubbler
pools to be drained by opening its sluice gates, but volunteers in diving suits and respirators
opened the valves. The operation was completed on 8 May after 20,000 tonnes of water were
pumped out.

Foundation protection measures were considered to reduce the likelihood of the molten core
burning into the earth and contaminating groundwater. However, this idea was scrapped.
Instead, subway builders and coal miners excavated a tunnel below the reactor to make room
for a cooling system. The final design was to incorporate a coiled formation of pipes cooled
with water and covered with a thin thermally conductive graphite layer to prevent the
concrete above from melting.

Site cleanup
After the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet Union planned to use robots to clear the debris from
the roof of the reactor, but many failed due to high radiation levels. Instead, bio-robots,
military liquidators, were used to remove highly radioactive materials. Only 10% of the
debris was cleared by robots, while 90% was removed by men who absorbed an average dose
of 25 rem (250 mSv) of radiation each.

To prevent contamination, the Soviets constructed the "Sarcophagus," a composite steel and
concrete shelter, from June to late November. Construction workers were protected from
radiation using techniques like crane drivers working from lead-lined control cabins. The
shelter included walls, concrete, a thick radiation shielding wall, a high-rise buttress, a roof,
and a ventilation extract system.

During the construction of the sarcophagus, a scientific team conducted an investigation to

locate and contain nuclear fuel to prevent another explosion. They discovered an intensely
radioactive mass in the basement of Unit Four, called "the elephant's foot," composed of
melted sand, concrete, and escaped nuclear fuel. The concrete beneath the reactor was
breached by lava and chernobylite, and it was concluded that there was no further risk of
explosion.

Area cleanup

The official contaminated zones underwent a seven-month clean-up effort, aiming to

repopulate and bring back agricultural value. Within 15 months, 75% of the land was under
cultivation, despite only a third of evacuated villages being resettled. Helicopters sprayed
large areas with "Barda" to entrap radioactive dust. Many radioactive emergency vehicles
remained parked in the Chernobyl area. Liquidators, known as "clean-up" workers, worked
under deplorable conditions and exceeded radiation safety limits.

SITE REMIDIATION
The Ukrainian nuclear plant faced questions about its future and fate. Unfinished reactors No.
5 and No. 6 were halted three years later, and the damaged reactor was sealed off. Reactor
No. 2 was declared damaged beyond repair and decommissioned in 1996. In December 2000,
President Leonid Kuchma shut down reactor No. 3.

No. 4 reactor confinement

After the Chernobyl disaster, a concrete sarcophagus was erected to prevent further release of
radioactive particles and protect the exposed core from weather. However, the sarcophagus
only had a 30-year lifespan. In 2013, a section of the turbine-building roof collapsed, causing
further radioactivity release. The international Chernobyl Shelter Fund was founded in 1997
to design a permanent cover for the sarcophagus. The New Safe Confinement, a metal arch,
was completed in 2016 and slid over the sarcophagus, allowing for safe dismantling using
remotely operated equipment. The sarcophagus was designed to last only 30 years.
Waste management

The New Safe Confinement, a nuclear facility in the wrecked reactor, has been undergoing
significant damage and decommissioning. Used fuel from units 1-3 was stored in cooling
ponds and ISF-1, which now holds most of the spent fuel from units 1-3. The facility is
expected to hold over 21,000 fuel assemblies for at least 100 years. The new facility, ISF-2, is
the world's largest nuclear fuel storage facility, with an expected processing capacity of 2,500
fuel assemblies per year.

The radioactive material consists of core fragments, dust, and lava-like "fuel containing
materials" (FCM) that flowed through the wrecked reactor building before hardening into a
ceramic form. The degradation of the lava is likely to be a slow, gradual process, with a low
rate of uranium leaching from the wrecked reactor. As of 2021, some fuel has already
degraded significantly, with the famous elephant's foot softening to a texture similar to sand.

Previously, rainwater acted as a neutron moderator, triggering increased fission in the

remaining materials, risking criticality. Gadolinium nitrate solution was used to quench
neutrons to slow the fission. However, fission reactions may be increasing, leading to fears of
a self-sustaining reaction spreading more radioactive dust and debris. Potential solutions
include using a robot to drill into the fuel and insert boron carbide control rods.

Exclusion zone

The Exclusion Zone, originally a 30 km radius from the Chernobyl plant, has been enlarged
to 2,600 km2, known as the "zone of alienation". The area has largely reverted to forest and is
overrun by wildlife due to human competition. Estimates for when the Zone could be
habitable again range from 300 years to multiples of 20,000 years. Residents, known as
samosely, have returned to their abandoned homes, mainly from farming and packages.
Forest fires are a perennial concern in areas contaminated by radioactive material, and in
April 2020, forest fires spread through the exclusion zone, causing increased radiation.

Recovery projects

The Chernobyl Trust Fund was established in 1991 to aid victims of the accident. It is
administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The Chernobyl
Shelter Fund was established in 1997 to finance the Shelter Implementation Plan. The UN
Development Programme launched the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme in
2003 to support Ukraine in mitigating long-term social, economic, and ecological
consequences. Over 18,000 Ukrainian children have been treated in Cuba since 1990. The
International Project on the Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident received US$20
million, mainly from Japan, to investigate health effects.
Tourism

The Chernobyl site, a site of nuclear disaster, experienced a surge in tourism in the early
2000s, with over 350,000 visitors between 2017 and 2022. The site was officially declared a
tourist attraction in 2019, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledging to revive
the area. However, the Russian invasion in early 2022 led to the closure of the exclusion
zone, resulting in a "stalker" subculture of illegal visitors.

LONG-TERM EFFECT

Release and spread of radioactive materials

The Chernobyl disaster, which occurred in 1986, is estimated to have released about 400
times more radioactive material than the combined atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. However, the disaster only released about one-hundredth to one-thousandth of the
total radioactivity released during nuclear weapons testing at the height of the Cold War due
to varying isotope abundances. Approximately 100,000 square kilometres of land was
significantly contaminated, with the worst-affected areas in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.
Lower contamination levels were detected across Europe, except for the Iberian Peninsula.
Contamination from the accident was scattered irregularly depending on weather conditions,
with patches of contamination often highly localized. The Soviet Air Force deliberately
seeded rain over 10,000 square kilometres of Belarus to remove radioactive particles from
clouds heading toward highly populated areas. The Chernobyl release was characterized by
the physical and chemical properties of the radio-isotopes in the core, particularly dangerous
fission products, such as iodine-131 and caesium-137. The release of radioisotopes from the
nuclear fuel was largely controlled by their boiling points, and the majority of the
radioactivity present in the core was retained in the reactor.

Environmental impact

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster caused significant radioactive contamination of aquatic

systems, including drinking water and fish. Guidelines for radioiodine in drinking water were
temporarily raised to 3,700 Bq/L, allowing most water to be reported as safe. However,
significant transfers of radionuclides to groundwater have occurred from waste disposal sites
in the 30 km exclusion zone around Chernobyl.

Flora, fauna, and fungi in affected areas have been affected by the radiation, with four square
kilometres of pine forest directly downwind of the reactor turning reddish-brown and dying.
Some animals in the worst-hit areas also died or stopped reproducing. Mutation rates for
plants and animals have increased by a factor of 20 due to the release of radionuclides from
Chernobyl. There is evidence for elevated mortality rates and increased rates of reproductive
failure in contaminated areas, consistent with the expected frequency of deaths due to
mutations.

The human food chain has also been affected by the disaster, with marshy areas of Ukraine
having the highest soil to dairy-milk transfer coefficients. In 1987, Soviet medical teams
conducted 16,000 whole-body count examinations on inhabitants in lightly contaminated
regions with good prospects for recovery. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the
initiative to monitor human body activity in these regions of Ukraine recorded a small and
gradual half-decade-long rise in internal committed dose before returning to the previous
trend of observing lower body counts each year.

In 2015, long-term empirical data showed no evidence of a negative influence of radiation on

mammal abundance. The high 135C content in boars of the Bavarian Forest that consume
these "deer truffles" suggests that their radiological contamination can be largely attributed to
the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons testing in Ukraine, which peaked during the late 1950s
and early 1960s.

The Chernobyl disaster in the UK caused increased precipitation on high ground, leading to
localized concentrations of contaminants in distant areas. In Norway, 18,000 livestock
required uncontaminated feed before slaughter due to residual radioactivity from the plume.
In the UK, 4,225,000 sheep were restricted from upland areas to prevent contaminated meat
entering the human food chain. The number of sheep and farms affected has decreased since
1986, but restrictions have been lifted in Scotland, Wales, and Cumbria. The legislation used
to control sheep movement and compensate farmers was revoked in 2012.

Human impact

The Chernobyl disaster resulted in the deaths of plant workers and firefighters, with 28 others
dying within three months from acute radiation syndrome (ARS). The majority of ARS cases
were treated with the help of American specialist Robert Peter Gale, who supervised bone
marrow transplant procedures. Bacterial infection was a leading cause of death in ARS
patients. In the 10 years following the accident, 14 more people died, mostly from causes
unrelated to radiation exposure. Scientific consensus suggests no statistically significant
increase in solid cancer incidence among rescue workers. However, childhood thyroid cancer
increased, with about 4,000 new cases reported by 2002 in contaminated areas of Belarus,
Russia, and Ukraine, largely due to high levels of radioactive iodine. The recovery rate is
~99%, with 15 terminal cases reported. Psychosomatic illness and post-traumatic stress have
had a significant impact, often exacerbating health issues by fostering fatalistic attitudes and
harmful behaviours. The four most harmful radionuclides spread from Chernobyl were
iodine-131, caesium-134, caesium-137, and strontium-90.

Following the Chernobyl disaster, journalists encouraged public mistrust of medical

professionals, leading to an increase in induced abortions across Europe due to fears of
radiation. An estimated 150,000 elective abortions were performed worldwide due to
radiophobia. No significant evidence of changes in the prevalence of congenital anomalies
linked to the accident has been found in Belarus or Ukraine. Larger studies, such as the
EUROCAT database, assessed nearly a million births and found no impacts from Chernobyl.
Cancer assessments suggest that the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated a global
collective dose from the accident equivalent to "21 additional days of world exposure to
natural background radiation." Estimates of deaths resulting from the accident vary greatly
due to differing methodologies and data. In 1994, thirty-one deaths were directly attributed to
the accident, all among reactor staff and emergency workers. The Chernobyl Forum predicts
an eventual death toll of up to 4,000 among those exposed to the highest radiation levels.

A 2006 paper in the International Journal of Cancer estimated that Chernobyl may have
caused about 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers in Europe by
2006. By 2065, models predict 16,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000 cases of other
cancers due to the accident. Anti-nuclear groups, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists
(UCS), have publicized estimates suggesting an eventual 50,000 excess cancer cases,
resulting in 25,000 cancer deaths worldwide, excluding thyroid cancer.

Socio-economic impact

The Chernobyl disaster, which cost the Soviet Union 18 billion Rbls ($5.9 billion in today's
dollars), was a significant economic loss for Belarus, with ongoing costs affecting Ukraine
and Belarus. The disaster resulted in the removal of 784,320 ha of agricultural land and
694,200 ha of forest from production, leading to increased agricultural costs. The accident
also influenced the new Soviet policy of glasnost and helped forge closer Soviet-US relations.
Some Ukrainians viewed the disaster as an attempt by Russia, while commentators argued
that the disaster was more likely to occur in communist countries.

SIGNIFICANCE

Nuclear debate

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 led to widespread debate and mistrust of the Soviet
authorities, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of nuclear reactor proposals. This event
also sparked concerns about fission reactors worldwide, causing a drop in new reactor
construction after 1986. The Soviet government's cover-up of the disaster fueled glasnost,
which led to reforms leading to the Soviet collapse. In Italy, the 1987 referendum resulted in
the phasing out of nuclear power plants in 1988, which was reversed in 2008. In Germany,
the disaster led to the creation of a federal environment ministry and the German
environmental minister, which is still in power today. The International Atomic Energy
Agency established a convention in 1986 to provide notification of nuclear and radiation
accidents. Chernobyl has been used as a case study for research on disaster causes, such as
sleep deprivation and mismanagement.
In popular culture

The Chernobyl disaster has inspired numerous artists worldwide to create works of art,
animation, video games, theatre, and cinema. Notable works include the HBO series
Chernobyl and the book Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich. Ukrainian artist
Roman Gumanyuk created "Pripyat Lights" featuring 30 oil paintings about the accident. The
video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl, a first-person shooter, and the horror
film Chernobyl Diaries explore the aftermath of the disaster. Documentaries like Chernobyl
Heart explore radiation effects and long-term side effects. The Babushkas of Chernobyl and
The Battle of Chernobyl also explore the disaster and cleanup efforts.

NOTE
A.The Chernobyl accident was not primarily due to graphite fires, as it is unlikely that
graphite burned. The combustion behaviour of graphite is not similar to that of charcoal and
coal, and it played little role in the accident's progression. The red glow observed was the
expected luminescence for graphite at 700°C, not a large-scale fire. Nuclear physicist
Yevgeny Velikhov noted that the reactor's fuel and graphite were in an incandescent state,
contrary to the commonly cited interpretation.

B. The first newspaper reports of the Chernobyl disaster were understated and contradictory,
leading to a lack of confidence in readers. The policy of openness (glasnost) was proclaimed
at the 27th Congress, but it only became an everyday practice after the disaster. This led to
more truthful examination of social problems, such as drug abuse, crime, corruption, and
leadership mistakes. This wave of bad news shocked society and led to increased outrages
during the perestroika era.