T-ESET001

Environmental Engineering

Written Report:
The Chernobyl Accident

MEE22 – Group 3
Buhay, Isshi B.
Castillo, Aliyah Kristine Z.
Geonwoo, Kim
Ramel, Paul Adrien T.
Sabar, Ean Miguel P.
Twaño, Carlo Martin M.
Aytalin, Lindsey Fatima I.

JANUARY 2022
 INTRODUCTION

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is created by splitting apart certain huge types of isotopes called fissile.
Isotopes are a variation of an element with a different number of neutrons, which some are more
stable than others. A fissile isotope breaks apart when a neutron hits it, and even once in a while
on its own. When the isotopes break apart, it is called nuclear fission - the process to become
more stable. As it does, the kinetic energy that is converted to heat is released, which primarily
powers an electrical grid. In addition, the energy released from one fission reaction is around a
million times greater than the energy released when one fossil fuel molecule is burned; hence,
nuclear energy is more utilized than fossil fuel.

Location

Chernobyl is a city in the Ukraine located about 56 miles (90 kilometers) northeast of the
capital, Kiev.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Construction began in the 1970's. It consisted of 4
reactors, which produced 10% of Ukraine's electricity. In1983, Reactor no. 4 was completed. At
the time of the accident, reactors no. 5 and 6 were still in progress. The reactor used in
Chernobyl Power plant is called Reaktor Bolshoy Moshehnosty Kipyashiy (RBMK). RBMK is a
Russian acronym translated roughly means "reactor (of) high power (of the) channel (type)".
This reactor is cooled by water and moderated by graphite.

a) Reactor Schematic

b) Reactor Plant Scenario

As the reaction occurs, the uranium fuel becomes hot. Then, water is pumped
through the core in pressure tubes. After it removes the heat from the fuel, the water is
 then boiled into steam. The steam turns the turbines resulting to water being cooled then
the process repeats.

Chernobyl Accident

 Chernobyl Disaster: The Worst Nuclear Disaster in History

 100 times more radioactivity than Hiroshima
 Prior to the disaster and a subsequent evacuation, it was home to around 14,000 people.
At that time, it was still part of the Soviet Union. The city was the location of the first
ever nuclear power station to be built in Ukraine, but on the 26th of April, 1986, disaster
struck when Reactor No. 4 exploded.
 The explosion at the nuclear plant is rated as the worst nuclear disaster in the history of
the world. Radioactive dust was sent far and wide, transported by winds as far as Sweden.
The number of deaths directly related to the initial explosion is thought to be about 31,
although the WHO reports that a further 50 deaths happened later as a result of massive
exposure of radiation on the day. These deaths were mostly workers and rescue workers.
 On the day of the disaster, thousands of people were exposed to high levels of radiation,
with the WHO saying these people are at high risk of having cancer in their lifetime.
Even the millions of people that lived miles away from the site in other parts of the then
Soviet Union, were exposed to low levels of radionuclides (or atoms that contain excess
nuclear energy) and they too are more at risk, regarding cancer.
 Approximately 1000 on-site reactor staff and emergency workers were heavily exposed
to high-level radiation on the first day of the accident; among the more than 200 000
emergency and recovery operation workers exposed during the period from 1986-1987,
an estimated 2200 radiation-caused deaths can be expected during their lifetime.
 About 4000 cases of thyroid cancer, mainly in children and adolescents at the time of the
accident, have resulted from the accident’s contamination and at least nine children died
of thyroid cancer; however, the survival rate among such cancer victims, judging from
experience in Belarus, has been almost 99%.

The Chernobyl RBMK-1000 reactor is a model specific to the former Soviet Union.
Nuclear power is considered safe as long as protocols are followed, proper materials are used,
and the reactor is designed to keep itself at a stable power level. Currently, all reactors in
operation have this design feature; however, the reactors at Chernobyl didn’t. Comparable to all
modern reactors, Chernobyl utilized uranium dioxide fuel enriched with uranium-235 - an
isotope of uranium that is prone to undergo fission. As the uranium-235 is hit by a neutron, it
splits into two other atoms, plus 2 to 3 other neutrons. One of the atoms sometimes produced by
the fission of uranium-235 is xenon-135, which played a significant role in the accident. Those
2-3 neutrons released are essential for some continuously hitting other atoms of uranium-235,
sustaining the chain reaction to create energy in the reactor. The RBMK-1000 reactor used large
graphite blocks to moderate the speed of the neutrons, decelerating them by reducing their
energy. Although it sounds counterintuitive, the fast-moving neutrons are less likely to hit and
break apart uranium-235 as they merely swish by too fast. Decelerating them increases the
chance that each neutron would hit uranium-235 and cause it to undergo fission, keeping the
reaction going and releasing the energy needed to heat water in the essential reactor.
The whole point of uranium-235 fission is to create enough energy to boil water in the
reactor into steam for it what spins the turbines that drive the electricity generators to power the
electrical grid. However, if the reactor needs to be decelerated or stop generating energy, the
general way is to have fewer neutrons hitting and splitting apart uranium-235. Therefore, it needs
to have neutron absorbers. In addition to being used to produce steam, water is used in the
reactor to act as a neutron absorber as well. To some degree, every element absorbs the neutrons,
even the hydrogen, and oxygen in the water. While each hydrogen and oxygen atom is
improbable to absorb neutrons, there is so much water in the reactor that combined - the water
acts as the absorber. If that water were to vanish, it would throw the neutron balance out of
whack. Another absorber is xenon-135, the uranium-235 fission product that is mentioned
earlier. Xenon-135 is an excellent absorber - one of the best of all the isotopes in the universe. A
small scale can completely stop a nuclear chain reaction. And finally, the boron carbide control
rods - can absorb neutrons extremely well to decrease the nuclear chain reaction. The RBMK-
1000 reactor had over 200 of them which were employed in and out to decrease and increase the
fission rate. Thus, all of these things work together to keep fission going while still controlling it.

Modern nuclear reactors are designed to have a negative void coefficient, which might
sound very complicated, but the basic premise: it’s a negative feedback loop. If the water in a
reactor starts to run low, the reactor power drops to prevent it from getting out of control.
However, that was not the case with Chernobyl. To cut costs, the RBMK reactors were the only
commercial reactors in the world designed with a positive void coefficient, which is a positive
feedback loop. Hence, unlike other reactors, as water boiled into steam or leaked out, then that
void will be produced - instead of power decreasing, it increased, which caused more water to
boil, more steam to form, and the cycle to continue.

Reason for the Accident

The irony of that night was that they were doing a safety test on Chernobyl’s reactor 4.
They wanted to see if the reactor lost power, it would keep its safety systems running until the
backup generator kicked in. The safety test requires the reduction of the power of the nuclear
reactor by lowering the control rods; however, it was accidentally decreased below the standard
operating protocol allowed. Turning it down too low was an issue because xenon-135 was still
being created and absorbing neutrons.

Some Xenon-135 is unavoidable, but it is inessential to contain much of it, for it would
keep the power too low that happened on the night of April 26, 1986. Because of all the xenon
built up, the only way to raise the power was to start removing control rods, which, as mentioned
earlier, are employed to absorb neutrons and keep uranium-235 fission from happening too often.
Under orders from shift supervisor and deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov, the operators
made the disastrous mistake of removing all but 8 of them over 200 control rods in blatant
violation of safety procedures. What they should have done, was raise the power gradually and
safely over a couple of days to reach the place where the moderating and controlling the reaction
were balanced again, and no danger of too much pressure building up is spotted. With the control
rods out, the power went up but only slightly. The xenon continued to build, keeping reactor
power low. The next step in the safety test was to shut down the pumps that would send water
through the reactor. Without that water, uranium fission increased, and without the control rods
in, there was no stopping the next series of events. Power began to rise, and with that, water at
the bottom of the reactor core boiled and turned to steam. With the water pumps shut down for
the safety test, no water rushed in to replace it. That positive void coefficient that is mentioned
earlier was making it worse. And steam pressure was building in the reactor fast. As power shot
up, at least one of the workers at Chernobyl responded as they were trained. They hit the
emergency shutdown button, which inserts all the control rods at once to stop the reaction. But
they were past the point of no return - too much pressure from the steam had built up.
Additionally, when those control rods started to go in, they would run into another major design
flaw. The tips of the control rods were made of graphite, which keeps uranium fission going.
Thus, before the control rods could help, the graphite made the power level increase. And,
moments later, a large amount of pressure built up caused the reactor to explode. As it did,
atmospheric oxygen rushed in and reacted with the hot graphite blocks. Graphite was now the
fuel in a combustion reaction, causing a second fiery explosion. The immediate explosion's
damage was minor compared to what was to come. The world became aware of the events at
Chernobyl when radiation was first detected outside a reactor in Sweden - much of eastern
Europe was being exposed to the radioactive cloud. The night of the explosion, only the two
plant workers died, but over 200 people, many of whom were firefighters who eventually put out
the fire, came down with acute radiation syndrome. Within two weeks, 28 of them were dead.

The Chernobyl accident serves as a reminder of what can happen when a safety culture
becomes unhinged. In the words of the late Dr. Valery Legasov, a Soviet inorganic chemist and
chief of the commission investigating the Chernobyl disaster, “I advocate the respect for human
engineering and sound man-machine interaction. This is a lesson that Chernobyl taught us”. The
ruins of the Chernobyl reactor now sit under a metal shell - but some of the radioactive isotopes
under that shell and in the surrounding areas have a half-life in the tens of thousands of years,
which means they will exist long after we and dozens of generations after us are gone.
Chernobyl Accident Immediate Impact

231 people were hospitalized immediately due to acute radiation sickness. 31 of them
eventually died. Most of these people were workers in the plant or local firefighters.
Following the accident, hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated and between
1990 and 1995 an additional 210,000 people were resettled. 50,000 people from Pripyat,
Ukraine were evacuated 2 days after the accident.

Chernobyl Accident Long Term Impact

a) International spread of radioactivity
 detected over all of Europe except for the Iberian Peninsula
 The nuclear meltdown provoked a radioactive cloud which floated over Russia,
Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, but also the European part of the Republic of
Macedonia, Croatia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovak
Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, France and the
United Kingdom (UK).
b) Radioactive release
 Highly radioactive compounds that accumulate in the food chain, such as some
isotopes of iodine and strontium are particularly dangerous.
 All of the noble gases, including krypton and xenon, contained within the reactor
were released immediately into the atmosphere by the first steam explosion.
  About 55% of the radioactive iodine in the reactor was released, as a mixture of
vapor, solid particles and as organic iodine compounds.
 Plutonium's half-life is 24,400 years.

Cycle of Radioactive Materials

Effects on Environment and Ecosystem

The 1986 accident of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, polluted thousands square
kilometers of land with different radioactive substances. These substances vary to radioactive
isotopes of caesium, strontium, americium, and plutonium. Unfortunately, only the people and
their domestic animals were evacuated while the wild animals and plants were exposed to the
high levels of radiation. Due to this event, the harmful effects of radiation have since been
detected in several species.

Levels of radioactivity (particularly radioiodine: 1-131, radiocaesium: Cs-137 and radio

strontium: Sr-90) in drinking water caused concern during the weeks and months after the
accident. Bio-accumulation of radioactivity in fish were significantly above guideline maximum
levels for consumption. Groundwater was not badly affected since radionuclides with short half-
lives decayed away a long time before they could affect groundwater supplies, and longer-lived
radionuclides such as radiocaesium and radio strontium were adsorbed to surface soils before
they could transfer to groundwaters

On the other hand, scientists had an opportunity to study the effects of ionizing radiation
on ecosystems and the effects of radiation on wild animals because of the remaining high dose
rate of external radiation in the isolated zone covering a distance of 30 kilometers from the
reactor. Many studies have been conducted on insects which are insects, spiders, birds, and
mammals. Even 30 years after the accident, the scientists are still unable to reach a consensus on
how long-term exposure to radiation has affected wild animals. It is also ambiguous which
radiation level causes a considerable impact on the ecosystem. The reason for the uncertainty of
the research results was due to the increased uneven distribution of the concentrations of
radioactive substances in the area, transmission of the substances, and the difficulty of gaining
information of the actual radiation dose in living organisms.

However, studies have shown that ecosystems can recuperate their diversity and even
from the vast disruption. For example, the forest of dead pines which was also called as the Red
Forest regained its usual state only after a few years. However, in the areas which directly killed
the trees indirect effects transformed the lighting and nutrients. Over time, new suited species
was replaced to the new biome for the betterment of the increasing biodiversity in the area.

Socio-economic impact

The affected territories are mostly rural; main source of income before the accident was
agriculture. For thar reason, the agricultural sector was the area of the economy worst hit by the
effects of the accident. A total of 784 320 hectares of agricultural land was removed from service
in the three countries, and timber production was halted for a total of 694 200 hectares of forest.
Restrictions on agricultural production crippled the market for foodstuffs and other products
from the affected areas. Even where remediation measures have made farming safe, the stigma of
Chernobyl has caused some consumers to reject products from affected areas.

Health Effects

 Thyroid cancer
- A large increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer has occurred among young
children and adolescents at the time of the accident and lived in the most
 contaminated areas of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. This was due to
the released of high levels of radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine was deposited in
pastures eaten by cows who then concentrated it in their milk which was subsequently
drunk by children
 Leukemia and non-thyroid solid cancer
- Ionizing radiation is a known cause of certain types of leukemia (a malignancy of
blood cells). An elevated risk of leukemia was first found among the survivors of the
atomic bombings in Japan some two to five years after exposure. Recent
investigations suggest a doubling of the incidence of leukemia among the most highly
exposed Chernobyl liquidators. Reports indicate a small increase in the incidence of
premenopausal breast cancer in the most contaminated areas, which appear to be
related to radiation dose.
 Cataracts
- The lens of the eye is very sensitive to ionizing radiation and cataracts are known to
result from effective doses of about 2 Sv. The production of cataracts is directly
related to the dose. The higher the dose the faster the cataract appears. Chernobyl
cataract studies suggest that radiation opacities may occur from doses as low as 250
mSv.
 Cardiovascular disease
- A large Russian study among emergency workers has suggested an increased risk of
death from cardiovascular disease in highly exposed individuals. While this finding
needs further study with longer follow-up times, it is consistent with other studies, for
example, on radiotherapy patients, who received considerably higher doses to the
heart.
 Mental health and psychological effects
- High levels of stress, anxiety and medically unexplained physical symptoms continue
to be reported among those affected by the accident.
 Reproductive and hereditary effects and children's health
- Numerous cases of birth defects and infertility issues were reported.

Economic Cost
 The scale of the burden is clear from the wide range of costs incurred, both direct and
indirect:
- Direct damage caused by the accident
- Expenditures related to:
▫ Actions to seal off the reactor and mitigate the consequences in the exclusion
zone;
▫ Resettlement of people and construction of new housing and infrastructure to
accommodate them;
▫ Social protection and health care provided to the affected population; Research
on environment, health and production of clean food;
▫ Radiation monitoring of the environment; and
▫ Radioecological improvement of settlements and disposal of radioactive waste.
- Indirect losses relating to the opportunity cost of removing agricultural land and
forests from use and the closure of agricultural and industrial facilities; and
- Opportunity costs, including the additional costs of energy resulting from the loss of
power from the Chernobyl and the cancellation of Belarus's nuclear power program.
 Coping with the impact of the disaster has placed a huge burden on national budgets.
 In Ukraine, 5-7 % of government spending each year is still devoted to Chernobyl-
related benefits and programs.
 In Belarus, government spending on Chernobyl amounted to 22.3% of the national
budget in 1991, declining gradually to 6.1% in 2002. Total spending by Belarus on
Chernobyl between 1991 and 2003 was more than USD 13 billion.
Chernobyl as of 2019

As of 2019, Chernobyl had a population of 500. The town is still home to some of its
people, although it’s now somewhat of a ghost town, with animals occupying many abandoned
buildings. Most of the residents live about 19 miles (30km) from the disaster site in the
Chernobyl
Exclusion Zone, and surprisingly, international tourists flock to the area.

As of today, the city of Chernobyl is mainly a ghost town. There are still a small number
of people residing in the town, however, and workers on watch and administrative personnel of
the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are stationed in the city on a long-term basis.
 DISASTER

Disaster Mitigation

During the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a graphite reactor had an extremely unpredictable
and uncontrollable negative void effect, which led to extremely volatile electricity production.
Positive void reactors are commonly found to produce large steam bubbles within the reactor
core, referred to as "voids" in this system, which were identified as the cause of the large power
surges. A hazard was identified in the reactor design which created these large steam bubbles.
Due to the very steam bubbles identified as a possible threat, the Chernobyl reactor stayed
operational until its explosion in 1986 (along with the decision of the team to disable the
automatic shutdown features of the reactor) and no new precautions were taken following the
discovery of the design flaw. Humanity learned from the Chernobyl disaster that nuclear safety
would have to take precedence in both the design and operation of nuclear power plants.  

Disaster Preparedness

A nuclear disaster might not be preventable, but an area can develop plans that would be
carried out if said disaster occurred. It is crucial to plan for a large-scale evacuation since
radiation spreads so quickly and can render areas uninhabitable. Since this incident, modern
nuclear reactors have often been fitted with teams that work closely with neighboring
populations to prepare for an orderly and speedy evacuation. In addition, the internal structure of
current reactors is designed in a way that reduces the likelihood of similar incidents occurring. A
major problem of the Chernobyl reactors was that the power output could greatly increase if the
cooling water was lost or converted into steam, causing power outages. Nowadays, reactors are
equipped with control rods with neutron absorbers, which make the reactors more stable.
Moreover, automatic shutdown mechanisms have also been improved to operate faster and more
efficiently alongside the changes in internal design  

Disaster Response

As a result of the explosion of reactor four, fire crews attempted to put out the fire and
limit the amount of radioactive material entering the environment. Within ten hours, the attempt
to put out the fire with cooling water was abandoned. The Russian Military helicopters dumped
more than 2400 tons of lead and 1800 tons of sand on the reactor almost a day later, but that did
not stop the fire or radiation leakage, and also contributed to the overall difficulty of controlling
the situation in the days following. Sand and lead ironically increased the heat produced by the
fire, causing it to radiate more. Approximately ten days after the original explosion, nitrogen was
needed to extinguish the fire. A 36-hour delay in notification of the accident delayed the
evacuation of 76 villages and the city of Pripyat. Radiation pills were given (far too late to be
effective) to counteract radiation poisoning, and they were told they would be leaving the area
soon without knowing they wouldn't be able to return until years later. Due to a nuclear energy
related event, these people became the world's first refugees. In the immediate aftermath of the
Chernobyl disaster, there was much confusion and a lack of knowledge. This serves as a
reference for the planning of nuclear emergency operations in the future.  

Disaster Recovery

In response, the United Nations created the Chernobyl Recovery and Development
Programme (CRDP), whose sole purpose is to assist the affected regions in their recovery and
eventually return them back to a state of normal living conditions. As part of the program, the
Chernobyl disaster is being mitigated on an economic, environmental and social level. By
working with numerous other organizations, the program helps restore normal conditions to the
affected regions. Apart from the CRDP, the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement (NSC) is
currently being built, funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. This facility was built primarily to
contain a partially destroyed reactor and prevent further leaks of radioactive material. In
addition, the structure should be able to support the future deconstruction of the reactor. The
NSC is anticipated to be finished by 2015.  
 SUMMARY

Chernobyl accident, a disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, was the
product of a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant
operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and lack of safety culture.

1. The Chernobyl accident in April 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that
was operated with inadequately trained personnel.
2. A routine test at the power plant went horribly wrong, and two massive explosions
blew the 1,000-ton roof off one of the plant’s reactors, releasing 400 times more
radiation than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
3. A routine exercise to test whether an emergency water cooling system would work
during a power loss started at 1:23 a.m. on April 26.
4. Within seconds, an uncontrolled reaction caused pressure to build up in Reactor No.
4 in the form of steam. The steam blasted the roof off the reactor, releasing plumes
of radiation and chunks of burning, radioactive debris.
5. About two to three seconds later, a second explosion hurled out additional fuel. A
fire started at the roof of Reactor No. 3, risking a breach at that facility. Automatic
safety systems that would normally have kicked into action did not because they had
been shut down prior to the test.
6. The steam explosion and fire released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into
surrounding environment, with the deposition of radioactive materials in many parts
of Europe.
 7. Two Chernobyl plant workers died due to the explosion on the night of the accident,
and 28 people died within a few weeks as a result of acute radiation syndrome.

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