Qb class8 unit4
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The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 when Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded during a safety test. Poor design, inadequate training and management decisions led to technicians disabling safety systems and causing the reactor to overheat and explode. The explosion released large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, contaminating surrounding areas. Thousands had to be evacuated from the nearby town of Pripyat and the immediate area became uninhabitable due to high radiation levels. The disaster highlighted the dangers of nuclear energy and the need for international cooperation in nuclear safety.
Qb class8 unit4
- 1. Reader 8 Unit 4 – Catastrophe at Chernobyl 1. Where was the Chernobyl nuclear reactor located? Answer: The Chernobyl nuclear reactor was located an hour away from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It towered over the landscape of the Pripyat Marshes. 2. Why was it considered to be one of the greatest scientific achievements? Answer: It was considered to be one of Soviet Union’s greatest scientific achievements because it was the largest nuclear power station in the world at the time. There were four nuclear reactors and two more were being built. 3. Did the chief engineer think there would ever be an explosion? Answer: The chief engineer at the plant, Nikolai Fomin, was very certain that there would never be an explosion. He compared the chances of a disaster to being hit by a comet. 4. Why was Chernobyl a disaster waiting to happen? Answer: Poor design, bad planning and inadequate staff training meant that Chernobyl was a disaster waiting to happen. 5. Why is radiation harmful to living things? Answer: In humans, radiation can cause burns and cancer and other side effects that could prove fatal. 6. When did the disaster at Chernobyl occur? Answer: The Chernobyl catastrophe occurred in the early hours of 26 April 1986 when the number four reactor exploded. 7. Describe how the disaster unfolded. Answer: The disaster began to unfold when a team of technicians had to carry out tests on equipment in the number four reactor. In order to carry out these tests, they had to slow the reactor down. But they reduced the power of the reactor so much that it began to shut down. The manager ordered the technicians to restart it instead of letting it shut down completely to maintain a level of safety. However, they had forgotten to switch on the emergency water cooling system that had been cut off earlier when they had slowed the reactor down. As a result of this, the reactor began to overheat. 8. Who was the manager on duty that night? Why did he not allow the control room staff to shut down the reactor? Answer: The manager on duty that night was Anatoli Dyatlov and he did not allow the control room staff to shut down the reactor even though it was dangerous to restart it when it was so close to shutting down. Chernobyl was supplying electricity to two and a half million people in Kiev and Dyatlov was scared that he would be held responsible for any loss of power to Kiev.
- 2. 9. What happened to the reactor? Answer: First, the heavy steel covers on the reactor began to move up and down in their sockets. Then a sharp, distinctive smell filled the air. The reactor had disintegrated. It exploded with such a force that it shattered the heavy concrete shield that lay above the reactor to protect the power station from radiation. 10. Why did Valeri Perevozchenko’s bravery go in vain? Answer: Valeri Perevozchenko’s bravery went in vain because he could not get everyone to leave the building. Though he begged the control room foreman to send everyone out, the foreman refused to believe that the reactor had been destroyed. 11. What happened to the people living in the nearby town? What happened to their pets? Answer: The nearby town of Pripyat was completely evacuated. People were taken away in buses, leaving behind their possessions never to return. Pets had to be left behind as large doses of radiation had collected on their fur. Dogs ran behind the convoys of buses as long as they could before returning sadly to the empty town. 12. What lesson did the rest of the world learn from the Chernobyl catastrophe? Answer: After the Chernobyl disaster, the world woke up to the fact that a nuclear catastrophe can never be one country’s problem alone. Not only was the immediate area around the explosion uninhabitable, the radiation had spread out, contaminating many parts of Europe. 13. What was done to prevent more radiation from pouring out of the destroyed reactor? Answer: Construction crews and firefighters continued to work at Chernobyl for years after the disaster. Their main task was to prevent radiation from pouring out of the reactor. Helicopters flew overhead, dropping sand and other materials on the destroyed reactor. Eventually, a huge concrete casing was built around the site. 14. What are the fears that scientists have today? Answer: Today, scientists are afraid that an earthquake could cause the protective casing around the site to collapse, releasing more radiation into the surroundings. The casing itself has caused some alarm because it has become old and cracks have begun to form on it.
- 3. Revision/Challenge Question: 15. Describe something you saw on televisi Answer: Free response. Guidelines: Describe the events leading up to the incident and who were the people involved in it. the incident and how a disaster was averted. saw on television or read about , where a disaster was averted events leading up to the incident and who were the people involved in it. the incident and how a disaster was averted. disaster was averted. events leading up to the incident and who were the people involved in it. Describe