3 km from the Ukrainian city of Pripyat, located just over 100 km from Kiev, a nuclear disaster occurred at the Chernobyl power plant. These facilities have gone down in history because of what happened there on April 26, 1986: the explosion of a nuclear reactor. As a result of that catastrophe, the beginning of the end of communism began in the USSR and today Pripyat is a ghost town abandoned by the devastating effects of radioactivity.
Causes of the catastrophe
The nuclear accident occurred due to a series of circumstances. First of all, there was a race of human error just as tests were being carried out to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. After the accident, it was learned that the nuclear power plant was not well designed and the security measures were totally insufficient.
According to the calculations made, the effects of radiation caused the immediate death of 31 people, between 30,000 and 60,000 later died and the inhabitants of the area suffered from all kinds of diseases
During the days following the accident, the Soviet authorities tried to minimize their impact on public opinion , but finally Mikhail Gorbachev admitted the true magnitude of the catastrophe. However, the mismanagement of the accident in the midst of perestroika accelerated the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
The toxic cloud caused by the reactor explosion particularly affected the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and to a lesser extent the whole of Western Europe.
The natural areas near the accident were totally devastated, to the point that the place was renamed Red Forest because of the new color of the trees. On the other hand, water and crops also registered high contamination , especially by radioactive cesium.
A large number of humanitarian entities offered their help to help the population , especially the affected children .
Thirty years after the disaster, more than 5 million people live in territories with high rates of radiation. To prevent nuclear elements from causing harmful effects, the remains of the atomic reactors remain sealed in the so-called Chernobyl Sarcophagus. In November 2016, a new sarcophagus was built and had an approximate cost of 1,500 million euros.