Chernobyl: Radiation Before
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires the limitation of radiation exposure for the public to be 1mSv per year and occupational radiation exposure to adults working with radioactive material to be 50 mSv per year (3-25 uSv/hr). Immediately after the explosion during 1986, the radiation levels in the most affected areas (the reactor building and control room) have been estimated to be at 300 Sv/hr; those who came in contact would be
fatally affected within a minute.
fatally affected within a minute.
Chernobyl: Radiation Today
Globally, the average exposure of ionizing radiation is 2.4-3mSv per year. 22 years after the Chernobyl incident, radiation levels inside the reactor hall were approximated to be 34 Sv/hr- a lethal dose in 10-20 minutes.
Environmental Impact Today
The Chernobyl incident proved to have caused huge environmental damage as it is shown that cleanup of the general area is still occurring 22 years later. Numerous reports note that cleanup is still under way for 25,000 spent-fuel assemblies, 35,000 cubic meters of low- and medium-level liquid wastes, and about 180 metric tons of now-solidified “lava like” fuel that was in Reactor No. 4 when it blew. Due to the severity of the explosion, clean up work will occur for many years. "Workers received high doses of radiation, averaging around 100 millisieverts. Some 20,000 of them received about 250 mSv and a few received 500 mSv. The highest doses were received by about 1000 emergency workers and on-site personnel during the first day of the accident."[6] Chernobyl is no longer functioning and no longer generates plutonium as all four reactors were shut down in 2000.
Health Effects Today
The ANS observed that “health effects and fallout distribution have been studied continuously since the accident, as they have been for atomic bomb survivors, and others who have received large radiation doses. The latest results show that the most important effect has been psychological, while physical effects are much less severe than originally estimated. This is to be expected, since calculations and judgments about radiation and nuclear matters always have large safety factors, to make sure any error is in the direction of safety. Ultra conservative studies project large numbers of early fatalities, but these are only after decades, if they occur at all.” [1]
As stated by the ANS (American Nuclear Society), health effects are more attributed to be more psychological and less physical than one may expect. A landmark 2005 study conducted by the Chernobyl forum (comprised of 8 UN agencies and the governments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine) found that poverty, mental health problems, alcoholism, and tobacco pose far greater threats to human beings than radiation exposure. Also, it is difficult to pinpoint the health effects caused by Chernobyl in the present because one could not trace back a single disease to a single cause. Initially, the United Nations stated that the number of people who eventually died of cancer-related diseases caused by Chernobyl was at 4,000. However, even the numbers put by the United Nations is disputed because the numbers have changed from 4,000, then 6,000, then 8,000 and now the number is at 9,000. While, other reputable sources such as Greenpeace have put the number at 100,000 and more. The exact number of Chernobyl related cancer-diseases will never be known because the 800,000 people that were brought in from the Soviet Union have dispersed back to the former Soviet Republics. Most records of who got sick have "disappeared," due to the deception of the Soviet Government. For example, health records of the liquidators disappeared after they completed working on the construction of the Sarcophagus. Also, on May 1986, the Soviet government decided to replace volunteer cleanup crews with military reservists. Since, the military reservists were not registered, there would be no possible way for researchers to link the effect of radiation on cleanup workers.
According to UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation), "the effects of the Chernobyl accident are many and varied. Early deterministic effects can be attributed to radiation with a high degree of certainty, while for other medical conditions, radiation almost certainly was not the cause. In between, there was a wide spectrum of conditions. It is necessary to evaluate carefully each specific condition and the surrounding circumstances before attributing a cause." [6]
Effects on Nature Today
The Chernobyl disaster caused the total evacuation of 350,000 people from 1,938,100 acres of land. Immediately afterward, much of the wildlife in the area died from the radiation, as shown by a nearby 4,000-acre pine forest turning red (“the Red Forest”).
Many thought that the exclusion zone would be an area of desolation, encompassed by radiation. The surrounding areas had been greatly abused before the disaster due to two world wars and the drainage of nearby marshes. Years after the evacuation, the wildlife began to prosper. Since, no hunting occurred and people were not allowed in, it was noticed that pigs, lynx, bears, moose, wolves, fox, deer and hundreds of birds began repopulating the area. In 2008, the European bison and the supposedly extinct Przewalski horse was re-introduced into the exclusion zone.
Currently, scientists are studying the long-term effects of radiation on the area’s plants and animals. While most of the animals appear physically normal, wolves test high for radioactive contamination. Perhaps one reason why mutations are not obvious in the larger animals is because the wolves weed out the deformed as well as the weak.
Scientists agree that studying the newly thriving ecosystem will help our understanding towards the long-term effects of radiation.
Environmental Impact Today
The Chernobyl incident proved to have caused huge environmental damage as it is shown that cleanup of the general area is still occurring 22 years later. Numerous reports note that cleanup is still under way for 25,000 spent-fuel assemblies, 35,000 cubic meters of low- and medium-level liquid wastes, and about 180 metric tons of now-solidified “lava like” fuel that was in Reactor No. 4 when it blew. Due to the severity of the explosion, clean up work will occur for many years. "Workers received high doses of radiation, averaging around 100 millisieverts. Some 20,000 of them received about 250 mSv and a few received 500 mSv. The highest doses were received by about 1000 emergency workers and on-site personnel during the first day of the accident."[6] Chernobyl is no longer functioning and no longer generates plutonium as all four reactors were shut down in 2000.
Health Effects Today
The ANS observed that “health effects and fallout distribution have been studied continuously since the accident, as they have been for atomic bomb survivors, and others who have received large radiation doses. The latest results show that the most important effect has been psychological, while physical effects are much less severe than originally estimated. This is to be expected, since calculations and judgments about radiation and nuclear matters always have large safety factors, to make sure any error is in the direction of safety. Ultra conservative studies project large numbers of early fatalities, but these are only after decades, if they occur at all.” [1]
As stated by the ANS (American Nuclear Society), health effects are more attributed to be more psychological and less physical than one may expect. A landmark 2005 study conducted by the Chernobyl forum (comprised of 8 UN agencies and the governments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine) found that poverty, mental health problems, alcoholism, and tobacco pose far greater threats to human beings than radiation exposure. Also, it is difficult to pinpoint the health effects caused by Chernobyl in the present because one could not trace back a single disease to a single cause. Initially, the United Nations stated that the number of people who eventually died of cancer-related diseases caused by Chernobyl was at 4,000. However, even the numbers put by the United Nations is disputed because the numbers have changed from 4,000, then 6,000, then 8,000 and now the number is at 9,000. While, other reputable sources such as Greenpeace have put the number at 100,000 and more. The exact number of Chernobyl related cancer-diseases will never be known because the 800,000 people that were brought in from the Soviet Union have dispersed back to the former Soviet Republics. Most records of who got sick have "disappeared," due to the deception of the Soviet Government. For example, health records of the liquidators disappeared after they completed working on the construction of the Sarcophagus. Also, on May 1986, the Soviet government decided to replace volunteer cleanup crews with military reservists. Since, the military reservists were not registered, there would be no possible way for researchers to link the effect of radiation on cleanup workers.
According to UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation), "the effects of the Chernobyl accident are many and varied. Early deterministic effects can be attributed to radiation with a high degree of certainty, while for other medical conditions, radiation almost certainly was not the cause. In between, there was a wide spectrum of conditions. It is necessary to evaluate carefully each specific condition and the surrounding circumstances before attributing a cause." [6]
Effects on Nature Today
The Chernobyl disaster caused the total evacuation of 350,000 people from 1,938,100 acres of land. Immediately afterward, much of the wildlife in the area died from the radiation, as shown by a nearby 4,000-acre pine forest turning red (“the Red Forest”).
Many thought that the exclusion zone would be an area of desolation, encompassed by radiation. The surrounding areas had been greatly abused before the disaster due to two world wars and the drainage of nearby marshes. Years after the evacuation, the wildlife began to prosper. Since, no hunting occurred and people were not allowed in, it was noticed that pigs, lynx, bears, moose, wolves, fox, deer and hundreds of birds began repopulating the area. In 2008, the European bison and the supposedly extinct Przewalski horse was re-introduced into the exclusion zone.
Currently, scientists are studying the long-term effects of radiation on the area’s plants and animals. While most of the animals appear physically normal, wolves test high for radioactive contamination. Perhaps one reason why mutations are not obvious in the larger animals is because the wolves weed out the deformed as well as the weak.
Scientists agree that studying the newly thriving ecosystem will help our understanding towards the long-term effects of radiation.
Chernobyl's Future
Inside the Sarcophagus
On December 22, 1988, it was announced that the sarcophagus would only last 20-30 years before requiring restorative work. The creation of the Sarcophagus was never intended to be of permanent use however; its continued deterioration has increased the risk of radioactive leakage.
Timeline of the Sarcophagus’s Problems:
- In 2010, it was revealed that the water that was leaking through the roof was becoming radioactively contaminated
- On February 12, 2013, the turbine-building roof collapsed due to the aging and sloppy repair work of the Sarcophagus
o After this incident, radiation levels were up to 19 becquerels per cubic meter of air: 12 times the normal
The New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a structure, funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, that is intended to contain and prevent the reactor complex from further emitting any radioactive material into the environment for the next century. The NSC is expected to consist of 257 m by 108m arch and the overall length of the structure is 150 meters(492.1 ft).
Objectives of the New Safe Confinement:
• Create an environmentally safe Unit 4
- contain the radioactive materials at the site to prevent further environmental contamination
• Reduce corrosion and weathering of the existing shelter and the Unit 4 reactor building
• Mitigate the consequences of a potential collapse of either the existing shelter or the Unit 4 reactor building, particularly in terms of containing the radioactive dust that would be produced by such a collapse.
• Enable safe deconstruction of unstable structures by providing remotely operated equipment for their deconstruction.
The New Safe Confinement has gone through several delays. However, some progress was shown through the stabilization of the existing sarcophagus for another 15 years in 2009. On February 2010, it was reported that the estimated completion date is during the Summer of 2015.
Timeline of the Sarcophagus’s Problems:
- In 2010, it was revealed that the water that was leaking through the roof was becoming radioactively contaminated
- On February 12, 2013, the turbine-building roof collapsed due to the aging and sloppy repair work of the Sarcophagus
o After this incident, radiation levels were up to 19 becquerels per cubic meter of air: 12 times the normal
The New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a structure, funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, that is intended to contain and prevent the reactor complex from further emitting any radioactive material into the environment for the next century. The NSC is expected to consist of 257 m by 108m arch and the overall length of the structure is 150 meters(492.1 ft).
Objectives of the New Safe Confinement:
• Create an environmentally safe Unit 4
- contain the radioactive materials at the site to prevent further environmental contamination
• Reduce corrosion and weathering of the existing shelter and the Unit 4 reactor building
• Mitigate the consequences of a potential collapse of either the existing shelter or the Unit 4 reactor building, particularly in terms of containing the radioactive dust that would be produced by such a collapse.
• Enable safe deconstruction of unstable structures by providing remotely operated equipment for their deconstruction.
The New Safe Confinement has gone through several delays. However, some progress was shown through the stabilization of the existing sarcophagus for another 15 years in 2009. On February 2010, it was reported that the estimated completion date is during the Summer of 2015.
Chernobyl Today
1. Chernobyl NPP. Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
2. Thornton, Jack. "Chernobyl 25 Years Later." ASME. ASME, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/nuclear/chernobyl-25-years-later>.
3. "Second Part of Chernobyl Arch Lifted." Second Part of Chernobyl Arch Lifted. WNN, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-Second-part-of-Chernobyl-arch-lifted-0508141.html>.
4. Medvedev (June 1989). “JPRS Report: Soviet Union Economic Affairs Chernobyl Notebook” (PDF)
5. "Sarcophagus." The Chernobyl Gallery. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
6. "Chernobyl Accident 1986." Chernobyl. World Nuclear Association. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/>.
2. Thornton, Jack. "Chernobyl 25 Years Later." ASME. ASME, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/nuclear/chernobyl-25-years-later>.
3. "Second Part of Chernobyl Arch Lifted." Second Part of Chernobyl Arch Lifted. WNN, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-Second-part-of-Chernobyl-arch-lifted-0508141.html>.
4. Medvedev (June 1989). “JPRS Report: Soviet Union Economic Affairs Chernobyl Notebook” (PDF)
5. "Sarcophagus." The Chernobyl Gallery. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
6. "Chernobyl Accident 1986." Chernobyl. World Nuclear Association. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/>.