I think it's time we start getting some answers about Chernobyl

I think it's time we start getting some answers about Chernobyl, I'm tired of children asking me for money because of what appears to be an acident. Where is the truth about Chernobyl. Does anyone care to explain what really happened in Russia's heartland?

Well, I thought that a steam explosion caused a nuclear meltdown and a radioactive fire. I read it was either operator error or a bad design.

First of all, Chernobyl is located in Ukraine, NOT in Russia...

The short answer is that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The Soviets cheaped out on both the power plant - no containment vessel, among other things - and training for the technicians. The test which was running when the meltdown started was simulating a practically impossible crisis scenario in an unsafe manner.

I'm not sure what you mean by being tired of children asking you for money - more info, please? The reactor the melted down at Chernobyl was one of four, and until December 2000 the plant continued to operate - Ukraine needed the power but was too poor to build another facility, nuclear or conventional, to replace the remaining reactors.

As for longer answers, Google is your friend:

Chernobyl.info

BBC

World Nuclear Association

IAEA

United Nations

As well as 4 of a great many from National Geographic...

Here

Here

Here

And Here

Denying ignorance begins at home. Knock yourself out.

after looking at pictures of the Prypiat Ferris wheel it makes me really wonder why isn't anyone actually trying to make right of this situation. People have died and developed cancer, but Putin is not doing anything to commerate this holocaust. I do not think that it is fair that Ukrainians, or society be scurried under the carpet and not know if this could happen again in addition to making sacrifices to commerate the victims of Chernobyl.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but how, exactly, do you propose that anyone "make right" of this situation more than 20 years after the fact?

Yes, people have died and developed cancer due to the incident/accident/disaster at Chernobyl, but why should Putin commemorate the disaster any more than residents of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Finland, etc.? While I am no Putin fan, it is not Russia's responsibility to make recompense to individuals affected by this disaster. It might be nice if they made some sort of public acknowledgment of what occurred at Chernobyl - and, for all I know, they do - however, Putin hardly seems the touchy-feely sort who is going to go out of his way to do such a thing...

Could this happen again? Sure. Nuclear power isn't safe, but neither is any other form of power generation. Hydroelectric power requires dams, and those dams create reservoirs, which in turn gobble up incredible amounts of land - farmland, homes/homesteads, towns, etc. Solar power is environmentally friendly but not efficient enough to provide reliable power to millions - or billions - of people with any degree of reliability.

And, strangely enough, nuclear power isn't even the most dangerous form of power generation in terms of radiation released into the environment. Coal-fired power plants - in use worldwide - require incredible amounts of coal to create power. Worldwide we burn somewhere in the neighborhood of 6.0 and 6.5 billion tons of coal every year.

Yep, you read that right. Between 6.0 and 6.5 billion tons of coal. And, since any given measure of coal contains a few parts per million of radioactive elements like thorium and uranium and polonium and the like, we're dumping somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 tons of thorium into the atmosphere every year - as well as 5,000 tons of uranium, and many other radioactive elements besides.

Chernobyl was a disaster, no question, but there's nothing to be done about it now. It isn't Russia's responsibility to fix the problem's remaining at Chernobyl - it isn't really any one group's responsibility, since the society which created the problem no longer exists. It is everyone's responsibility to make sure that we are aware of what we are already doing to the environment.

We should recognize Chernobyl for what it is/was: a warning, a symbol of what can happen to us all if we don't start to take more responsibility for our actions.

Chernobyl has been thoroughly explained. I read a number of books about the incident and its aftermath. You may want to visit your local library. I also recommend the following video: Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus

reply to post by PhloydPhan


Thorium plants would be nice. No meltdowns and no risk of spreading materials for use in nuclear weapons. The world's reserves of Thorium could cover the energy needs globally for thousands of years.


Thorium Power Plants Could Solve The World's Energy Problems

Originally posted by PhloydPhan
We should recognize Chernobyl for what it is/was: a warning, a symbol of what can happen to us all if we don't start to take more responsibility for our actions.

Or, recognize it for the fact that there was no oversight in place for nuclear power in the former Soviet Union.

I think this is a dark day over the putin regime. First they say it is in the Ukraine and not in Russia. Both countries have some serious explaining to do as to why radiation and fall out were falling on US soil and all over eastern Europe.

reply to post by Hellmutt


Nice to know I'm not the only one advocating Thorium nuclear power

The fact that most thorium reserves are in Australia and India is a bonus.

Originally posted by Essan
reply to post by Hellmutt

 

Nice to know I'm not the only one advocating Thorium nuclear power

The fact that most thorium reserves are in Australia and India is a bonus.

Hey if it was really that important dont you think people would be using it by now?

Well, let me see. Urannium can be used to produce weapons grade plutonium. Thorium can't.

I wonder why we persist in using Uranium when Thorium is much safer and more abundant