What Led Up To The Chernobyl Disaster

In the years leading up to the Chernobyl Disaster, the world was experiencing a “Nuclear Dream”. Countries bragged about having the biggest, most powerful bomb in order to build themselves up and intimidate their enemies. Since the attack on Hiroshima and the bombing of Pearl Harbor had happened previously, all countries were making sure they had strong enough bombs to fight back with if they were ever attacked. With the boom in radioactive weapon production, countries discovered that it served as a good source of energy although it was a risky way of obtaining energy. By 1986 there were 374 nuclear power plants around the world, and 154 still under construction (Diamond). Studies showed that around 700 million people lived within 100 miles

In 1920-1930 the Soviet Union established a school dedicated to nuclear research, the Ukrainian Institute for Physics and Technology (Cheban). The students at this school were the first to recreate nuclear fission, a process earlier discovered by British scientists, and made many advancements in nuclear science (Cheban). Then when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II, the focus was drawn away from scientific research due to the number of scientists who were enlisted in the military forces (Soviet Atomic Program - 1946). After the invasions had ceased, research started back up again. During the Potsdam Conference Harry Truman, the current President of the United States mentioned to Joseph Stalin that his country was on the verge of creating an extremely destructive bomb (Soviet Atomic Program - 1946). Upon returning to his homeland, Stalin directed scientists and physicists to create the most powerful bomb in the world (Soviet Atomic Program - 1946). With the beginning of the Cold War, the US, the Soviet Union, and other countries involved began to put all of their efforts into creating the biggest bomb yet (Soviet Atomic Program - 1946). The pride and excitement associated with the creation of a new bomb took the spotlight off the dangers that could come out of nuclear

There is still radiation circulating in Chernobyl and parts of Europe (Claims and lies in a disaster The Worst Accident in the World Chernobyl: The End of the Nuclear Dream). Scientists estimate from 10,000 to 100,000 thousand deaths related to the radiation released during the Chernobyl accident in the next 40 years (Claims and lies in a disaster The Worst Accident in the World Chernobyl: The End of the Nuclear Dream). And to make matters worse, those people continue to be affected, giving birth to children with birth. Citizens of Chernobyl and surrounding cities had to be evacuated and relocated to new homes, which is a very expensive and time-consuming process (Health effects of the Chernobyl accident: an overview). An estimated 116,000 citizens had to move directly after the event and another 230,000 have been relocated since Health effects of the (Chernobyl accident: an overview). Millions of people are still living in contaminated areas, and some of them are not even aware of it (Chernobyl accident: an overview). The aftermath of the disaster continues to haunt the world today and it serves as a warning to be very cautious when dealing with nuclear