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    Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World
    Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World
    Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World
    Ebook80 pages38 minutes

    Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World

    By Michael Burgan

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    About this ebook

    The long-term damage from an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant more than 30 years ago is still unknown. When explosions ripped through the reactor in rural Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, they spewed huge amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere and caused the worst nuclear disaster in history. About 10,000 people have died or will die because of their exposure to radiation, and experts worry about the children born to parents who were living near the disaster area. With international help, Ukraine has enclosed the damaged reactor, giving scientists time to figure out what the future holds.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCapstone Young Readers
    Release dateJan 1, 2018
    ISBN9780756557560
    Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World
    Author

    Michael Burgan

    Michael Burgan has written more than 250 books for children and young adults. His specialty is history, with an emphasis on biography. A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in history, Burgan is also a produced playwright and the editor of The Biographer’s Craft, the newsletter for Biographers International Organization. He first started writing for children as an editor at Weekly Reader before beginning his freelance career in 1994. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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      Book preview

      Chernobyl Explosion - Michael Burgan

      Cover

      Chapter One

      UNSEEN MENACE

      The workday was just starting on Monday, April 28, 1986, for Bengt Bellman, a safety inspector at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden. He quickly became concerned when alarms went off in the plant. The flashing lights meant sensors had detected higher than normal levels of radiation.

      The plant, like others around the world, generated electricity by tapping the immense amounts of energy stored in the nucleus of radioactive materials. The radioactive materials release energy that boils water. Steam from the boiling water turns turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power plants do not pollute the air, as coal-powered plants do. And after the cost of building a plant, it is fairly cheap to produce electricity from nuclear power. But as Bellman and other workers in his industry knew, nuclear power has a downside. Unseen radiation is deadly in large doses. That’s why engineers who design and build nuclear power plants work hard to make sure radiation cannot leak out into the buildings or the surrounding areas.

      Early detection of radiation by inspectors at the Forsmark nuclear plant in Sweden helped alert the world.

      Bellman and other safety officials worked quickly to find the source of the excess radiation so they could decide what to do. What Bellman learned surprised him. The Forsmark plant’s workers had high levels of radiation on the bottoms of their shoes. But they had not passed through any parts of the plant where there might have been a radiation leak. Investigating further, plant officials found abnormal amounts of radiation outside the plant. Then they got reports of high levels of radiation outside another Swedish nuclear power plant. Government officials in Stockholm began to suspect that the radiation was coming from outside Sweden, but no country had reported a nuclear accident.

      A Swedish inspector checked the ground for radiation the day after it was first noted at Forsmark.

      The sleuthing went on, in an effort to pinpoint the source of the radiation. Devices set up across Sweden showed that radiation levels had begun to increase the day before. The rising levels were in the southeastern part of the country. A look at the weather for the previous few days showed that winds had come from that direction. It seemed possible that the winds had carried the radiation over the Baltic Sea, from the direction of the Soviet Union. But when Swedish officials asked the Soviet government about a possible radiation leak, the Soviets denied that there had been one.

      A Swedish farmer wore protective clothing as he worked in an area contaminated by radiation.

      During the day Monday, news of the activity at Forsmark spread throughout Sweden. Some people wondered whether they should stay inside. Government officials measured the radiation on vehicles and inspected buildings that could shelter people if a massive leak occurred. Finally, that evening, the Soviet government admitted that its country was the source of the radiation. It issued a brief statement: An accident has occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as one of the reactors was damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to those affected. A government commission has been set up.¹

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