Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant currently under decommissioning near the city of Pripyat in the Kyiv region, which operated from 1977 to 2000. History Construction of the station began in 1970, the first unit was launched in 1977. The nuclear power plant is located at a distance of 2 km from the city of Prypyat, built primarily for its employees. The name is associated with the city of Chernobyl, then the district center of this area. As of the beginning of 1986, Chernobyl was the most powerful nuclear power plant in the European part of the USSR. On April 26, 1986, during a design test, an accident occurred that completely destroyed the station's fourth reactor and caused significant contamination of the surrounding area with radioactive substances. As a result of this catastrophe, the population of Prypyat, Chornobyl and all other settlements within a radius of about 30 km around the station was completely evacuated. Today the accident itself is one of the largest man-made disasters in human history. Chernobyl was originally intended to have twelve reactors, and if completed, it would have been the largest nuclear power plant in the world. Only four reactors were ever completed. Another two were under construction, but their construction was stopped after the disaster. The plant continued to operate after the disaster. Other, less-serious accidents have also occurred at the plant, including a partial meltdown of Unit 1 in 1982 and a fire in the turbine hall of Unit 2 in 1991. References And Accidents