The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org/web/20040822002619/http://www.chernobyl.com:80/russia.htm
THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 am technicians at the Chernobyl Power Plant in the Ukraine (former Soviet Union) allowed the power in the fourth reactor to fall to low levels as part of a controlled experiment which went wrong. The reactor overheated causing a meltdown of the core. Two explosions blew the top off the reactor building releasing clouds of deadly radioactive material in the atmosphere for over 10 days. The people of Chernobyl were exposed to radioactivity 100 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. The people of the world and Northern Europe were greeted with clouds of radioactive material being blown northward through the sky. Seventy percent of the radiation is estimated to have fallen on Belarus and 10 years later babies are sill being born with no arms, no eyes, or only stumps for limbs. It is estimated that over 15 million people have been victimized by the disaster in some way and that it will cost over 60 Billion dollars to make these people healthy. More than 600,000 people were involved with the cleanup many who are now dead or sick. The Chernobyl Plant is made up of 4 graphite reactors; Number 4 exploded in 1986, Number 2 was shut down from a fire in 1991. In December 1996 the Ukrainian Government announced it plans to reopen Number 2.

The causes of the accident and its progress. A perspective by a Russian Nuclear Research Center and its data base on the Chernobyl disaster

 Russian chernobyl site


PRESENT DANGERS To stop rising ground water (Chernobyl is next to the Prypiat river) a concrete wall was built 30 meters into the ground between the riverbank and the reactor. That wall is now acting like a dam. The concrete sarcophagus built around the core emitted radioactive particles and is "a shaky, haphazardly built structure". A chief engineer stated " no one can tell you what will happen to the sarcophagus in the next half hour".
* NEW STORY * Top Russian Experts Propose Chernobyl Sarcophagus Solution
There have been a least 4 small fires. (we will attempt to include these in a report later on). The No. 2 reactor was shut down from a fire in 1991. In April 1993 the No.1 Reactor was shut down because of a turbine malfunction.

Click on Residual Radiation Risks to read a detailed report on present sarcophagus dangers
RESIDUAL RADIATION RISKS (OECD)



DANGER AT OTHER FACILITIES ... The Bellona Foundation ... North Western Russia .
"Tomsk-7 Seversk" Bellona - Reprocessing plants in Siberia :Seversk - Tomsk-7 -Oprn Tomsk. City. It was reported in April 1993 that Yeltsin ordered safety checks at all nuclear installations after an explosion of 500grms of plutonium at the closed (secret) city of Tomsk-7 released plutonium. There were reports of a 120sq km area of radioactive particle contamination, including the small settlement of "Georgievka". (there were reports of a past unreported explosion at the same complex) "Mayak" ...."Ozersk"
Reprocessing plants in Siberia: Ozersk
The plutonium plant at Chelyabinsk established in 1948 had at least three major accidents ( 10,000 people moved after an explosion at a nuclear waste dump in 1957) the last reported in 1967 when strong winds dispersed clouds of radioactive dust from a lake used to store radioactive waste; at least 450,000 Russians were directly effected. Also : Zheleznogorsk

The Russian Northern Fleet - Sources of Radioactive contamination

Nuclear Weapons Research, Test, and Production Facilities - Russian and Soviet Nuclear Forces


Internet Resources for Russian Studies - Environment

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PREVIOUS STORIES AND ALERTS

INTERNATIONAL RELIEF FUND OF RUSSIA The IRFR has worked in St.Petersburg and Ukraine with orphans and widows who have been contaminated with radiation. They are a local and national group and a Russian certified charity. Contact the Chairman, Mark Bazalev in St.Petersburg , Russia. Phone: 7 812 150-2191..IRFR

Other Charitable Chernobyl Organizations
Chernobyl Organizations



International Nuclear Safety Centre Database

EX-USSR Nuclear Technologies

Uranium Institute Home Page

Collection of Soviet Design Data


 



*** A SOVIET SCIENTIST TELLS HIS STORY OF CHERNOBYL

*** People who directly died from Chernobyl
 
 

 Chernobyl(Alexander Artsyukhovich)  USSR Nuclear Technology
 Chernobyl(Chornobyl) list

*** Dr. Meshkati Chernobyl Page

Seattle Pacific University Index and Special Stories,

MatSc 101: NUCLEAR ENERGY: Chernobyl

The Chernobyl disaster Lists



 

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