MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, GURGAON

What went Wrong?

Chernobyl, Ukraine, Nuclear Accident
Compiled by:
Prof. Manoj K Srivastava
Operations Management Area
An accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station caused Three years after the Chernobyl accident, the official reports
a massive environmental disaster The reactor in one of the stated that the severely contaminated area around the
units lost its cooling water, heat built up, and radioactive nuclear power plant was much larger than first estimated.
gas burst out and spread all over Europe and parts of the Over an area of approximately 10,000 square kilometers
USSR. (3,900 sq mi), contamination was at a level of 15 curies or
higher per square kilometer—a very unsafe level. According
In April 1986, the Number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl to some estimates, a quarter million people still lived in
nuclear plant exploded, creating the single worst nuclear badly contaminated areas. Four years after the accident,
power plant disaster in history. The Chernobyl plant is 627,000 Soviets were under permanent observation for
located on the Pripet River about 130 kilometers (80 mi) symptoms and effects of radiation poisoning. As of £003,
from Kiev in Ukraine. The reactor explosion released an registries of persons exposed to the Chernobyl radiation in
estimated 185 to 250 million curies of radioactivity into the Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia listed 3 million people.
environment. Within the first few days and weeks, according
to official reports, 31 people died as a direct result of the The financial costs of the Chernobyl accident totaled about
explosion and the release of radiation (28 died of acute $13 billion four years after the incident, and no one knows
radiation poisoning, including a dozen firefighters), but the what the ultimate costs may be. The direct costs are
subsequent reports of mortalities are much higher. The expected to be greater than the Soviet government's total
International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that there investment in nuclear power before the accident.
will be 4,000 fatal radiation-induced cancers among the
600,000 people most highly exposed to the radiation. The Operator error caused the accident, but various design
less-exposed individuals who will ultimately die prematurely defects (such as inadequate control systems and the lack of
because of the incident could number in the tens of a containment vessel) made matters worse. The accident
thousands. Immediately after the accident hundreds of occurred during a test of the backup electrical system. The
people were diagnosed operators were
as having radiation sick- supposed to slow down
ness, and over 100,000 the reactor so that it
people living within 30 would run at a low level
kilometers (18 mi) of during the test, but
Chernobyl had to be they found they had
evacuated. It has been slowed it too much. To
estimated that as many speed up the reaction
as 40,000 to 70,000 again, they pulled out
additional cancer deaths too many control rods
(many of them occurring and reduced the
outside the former amount of water
Soviet Union) may result cooling the reactor. The
from the effects of reaction sped up but
Chernobyl over the next quickly went out of
several decades. Dr. control. An intense
Vladimir Chernousenko, a nuclear physicist who was the build-up of steam caused an explosion that blew the
scientific supervisor of the emergency damage control team concrete roof, weighing about 1,000 metric tons, off the
sent into Chernobyl after the accident, has suggested that reactor and shot radioactive elements into the atmosphere.
the high levels of radiation released from Chernobyl have Burning materials rained down on the plant's roofs and
damaged perhaps 35 million people. started a number of fires outside the containment building.
Inside, studies indicate that the actual reactor pore at
When the Chernobyl reactor exploded, a thick cloud of Chernobyl underwent a meltdown, hurtling through a steel
radioactive gases rose about 1.5 kilometers (a mile) into the and gravel barrier 1.8 meters (6 ft) thick; it remained
atmosphere. These gases very quickly covered much of the exposed and burning For 10 days, all the while releasing
Northern Hemisphere, affecting areas over 1,600 kilometers radiation. Only the gallant but ultimately suicidal work of
(over a thousand mi) away. In Scandinavia, Germany, and firefighters and other emergency workers kept the fire from
Great Britain, plants and animals were contaminated by spreading to an adjacent nuclear reactor. Thousands of tons
radioactivity for years and declared unsafe for human of boron, lead, and other radiation-absorbing materials were
consumption. In Lapland, the reindeer were declared unfit dropped onto the reactor, but unfortunately, much or all of
for human consumption because of radioactive this material may have misled the actual core. The
contamination. In Italy, thousands of tons of vegetables helicopter pilots could not see through the toxic smoke
were unusable. In Corsica, as a result of eating local billowing up as they tried to hover over the exposed core.
contaminated cheeses and other milk products, children Liquid nitrogen was pumped under the realtor vessel to cool
were found to have large accumulations of radioactive it, and finally, the damaged reactor was entombed in
iodine-131 in their thyroid glands (the gland in the neck that reinforced concrete to try to contain the remaining
regulates growth). In all, over a hundred million Europeans radiation. No one is sure how long this tomb will hold; the
were subjected to either voluntary or mandatory food radiation may begin to destroy it and leak through. Already
restrictions over the next few years. there are reports that this concrete tomb is riddled with
holes, is structurally unstable, and could collapse at any then burst into flames. It happened in the middle of the
time. Approximately 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 sq mi) night. A plume of radioactive material and radiation shot
of land around Chernobyl will remain contaminated with upward into the sky and then wind blew this cloud
high levels of radioactivity into the indefinite future. northwards across Poland and Scandinavia. A day later,
Swedish technicians at a nuclear facility in that country
The tragedy followed a routine maintenance operation when picked up high levels of radioactivity. It was the remnants of
something terrible went wrong and radioactive gas drifted a much thicker cloud that did most damage in the area
all over Europe. The disaster continued to claim more immediately around the Chernobyl plant and second
victims long after the accident disappeared from the public greatest damage as it passed over Belarus.
eye.
Nothing was said about the event at that time, nor was
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev in the Ukraine, much revealed for days afterwards. Characteristic Soviet
formerly a state of the Soviet Union, was the pride of the secrecy surrounded the event. Some reports were lost or
country's nuclear power program. It was the biggest destroyed. The Soviet Union was anxious to maintain a
installation of this kind with four generators, each positive approach to nuclear sources of energy because
producing one thousand megawatts of electricity, and two there were plans to expand them. They did not want to
more of the same kind under construction. Construction of arouse public fears. All this secrecy took place in the face of
the first unit began in 1971 and by early in 19S6, with four accurate information that was available to Soviet
units operating, the Soviet government was about to launch authorities telling them exactly how much radiation had
a five-year program in which several new Chernobyl-style reached any part of eastern or northern Europe. The Test
plants were to be built. The decision to go ahead was made Ban Treaty with die United States demanded that each side
in February of 19S6 and the Communist Party Congress was possessed the ability and the equipment to do this. In full
to approve it in (line of the same year. Between the two knowledge of the terrible consequences of exposure to
dates came the explosion of Chernobyl's number four radiation, the Soviet Union refused to release what it knew
reactor. until compelled by external evidence.

The initial events were similar to accidents at other nuclear The staff at the plant attempted to assess the extent of the
facilities. The reactor damage to unit four and to
lost its cooling water limit the spread of fire to the
and the nuclear fuel other reactor units. In doing
elements began to so, many of these people
heat up. Action can averted what may have been
be taken at this a far greater catastrophe but
stage to bring in also lost their lives as a
emergency supplies result of lethal doses of
of water. Time is thus radiation. Fire fighters risked
gained to locate the their lives pouring water into
trouble and fix it. In the burning unit four reactor.
the case of the Over a period of two weeks
Chernobyl accident, the Soviet Air Force dropped
nothing was done to more than 10,000 tons of
counter the build up material into the reactor
of heat and soon core to try and smother the
dangerous levels of fire. The pilots who flew on
radiation were being these missions died from the
released into the atmosphere. The reactor did not have a massive radiation doses they had to be dumped along with
protective building around it to prevent the escape of these trucks, cars and other things around Chernobyl.
radioactive gases. Finally, the heat level rose so high that
graphite in the reactor core caught fire and a burst of In a reactor core, when heat rises sufficiently high, hydrogen
radioactive material swept over the surrounding countryside explosions occur. In unit four, explosions of this kind hurled
devastating everything. burning lumps of graphite and reactor fuel into the air that
then landed on neighboring buildings and set them on fire.
At the time of the accident the reactor was undergoing Most of the buildings had tar roofs and this fueled the fires.
routine maintenance and that required a shutdown. The Once the fires were extinguished there was the question of
manager of the plant decided to conduct an experiment what to do with all the radioactive debris that had escaped
during this time, a test that could only be conducted during from the reactor core. It was decided to gather as much as
a shutdown. The manager wanted to know how he would possible and push it back into the reactor. This dangerous
deal with a reactor problem if power were unavailable from task was at first undertaken by robots but these were soon
the main electrical grid. Even when a reactor is shut down it found to be unable to cope with the terrain. They kept
still requires power to maintain the cooling circuit. His getting stuck so a fateful decision was made to use
experiment was to use diesel generators in such an humans.
emergency and he hoped that the fifty seconds or so that
these engines required coming up to full speed would not Choosing to use people for this task was tantamount to
jeopardize the operation. killing them. Everyone involved with nuclear installations
knew by this time the deadly effects of radiation. The men,
No one knows exactly what went wrong with the mostly from the army, were only able to work for a maximum
experiment. We only know that the reactor heated up and of one minute even with heavy lead protective clothing on.
Radiation levels were dangerously high. The one minute of anything from soil, timber, and vehicles to domestic items
work proved to be too much for some. They later succumbed such as refrigerators and clothing. Some of the pits
to serious illness from their exposure to radiation. In total, contained the remnants of the forest which surrounded the
almost one million men worked on the cleanup and the power station and absorbed so much radiation that the
construction of a sarcophagus that would seal up unit four trees had to be destroyed and treated as radioactive waste.
and stop the spread of radiation. These pits became a big environmental hazard because they
posed a threat to the main water table.
Constructing the Sarcophagus was highly complicated from
both engineering and organizational standpoints. It required This water table is linked to the Dnieper River which
large amounts of equipment and, because the exposure of supplied the water needs of thirty-five million people,
workers to radioactive particles had to be strictly limited, including the residents of Kiev. Police and military
the sequential involvement of many thousands of people. personnel guarded the area around Chernobyl, ensuring that
The tomb was constructed of huge concrete blocks, each of no one ventured close to lethal radiation. In spite of that, a
which weighed up to several thousand tons. The blocks were few people, mostly the elderly, were allowed back into their
assembled at some distance from the Unit 4 reactor. Once old homes. They insisted that they could not see, taste,
assembled, their transport to the smell or touch the deadly radiation so it
reactor was extremely difficult did not bother them. While they might not
because access roads were not be concerned, future generations must.
designed to carry such heavy loads. The long-term effects of radiation have
On site, the blocks then had to be yet to be understood. Such effects modify
put into place with heavy-duty the genetic structures of animals, food,
cranes. While all this was and humans.
happening, radiological monitoring
and decontamination procedures The evacuation of at least 135,000
had to be maintained continuously. people—some of whom moved more than
once because their initial destination was
The sarcophagus consisted of a unsafe or otherwise unacceptable—was
massive concrete container that obviously an enormous undertaking. It
would encircle the damaged reactor was decided to rehouse evacuees in
and form a roof on top. It took seven regions immediately to the south of
months to complete, was two Chernobyl. In this way, those engaged in
hundred feet in height, and agriculture would remain in familiar
stretched for two hundred feet along territory, and logistical problems for all
each side of the reactor building. evacuees would be kept to a minimum.
Construction was speedy and the By September 1986, it was reported that
quality of work correspondingly poor. a special government account of about
Everyone wanted to minimize the 500 million rubles was being used to
workers' exposure to radiation. The container was intended assist the victims of the Chernobyl disaster. It was also
to last for thirty years but within a decade cracks and reported that most of this money was being used to finance
weaknesses appeared and repairs were needed. In addition, the reconstruction of some 12,000 new houses. It appears
the concrete was gradually weakened by irradiation from that by October 1986 well over 7,000 new houses had
within and tension from the huge temperature difference already been constructed (between June and October) for
between inside and outside. evacuees from the 30-kilometer zone, and another 5,000
had been completed by the end of December that year. In
By October, 340,000 cubic meters of concrete had been addition, about 8,000 apartments had been made available
poured and placed, 3,000 tons of metal housing had been by October 1986 in the cities of Kiev and Chemihiv. These
mounted, and the Sarcophagus had reached a height of 74 units were allocated to former residents of Prypyar and
meters. While it is not clear when the sarcophagus was Chernobyl. By April 1987, the number of apartments
officially designated as completed, it is clear that the allocated had reached 13,500, and by the early summer of
Chernobyl Unit 1 reactor was restarted on schedule in 1987 there were firm plans for an additional 3,000 homes
October. It is also clear that all work on the shell was and 1,500 apartments.
finished by the end of December 1986. The last stage of
construction involved the building of a 1-kilometer long The Chernobyl accident led to huge health problems in the
fence around rhe Unit 4 reactor and the moving of Ukraine and elsewhere. Plant personnel, fire fighters,
uncontaminated soil to the area immediately surrounding medical staff, and cleanup workers suffered the most.
the reactor. Since March 1987, a single diagnostic system Reports from Belarus indicate a 50 percent drop in birth
composed of four computers has been housed in a new rates and a steady rise in miscarriages and birth defects.
section ot the power station and used continuously to Other estimates claim that over three million Russians
monitor temperature and radiation levels in the entombed suffered radiation exposure with 370,000 likely to develop a
reactor. The entombment technology appears to have radiation-linked illness. By 2001, estimates of total deaths
worked as planned, but how permanent it will be remains from the Chernobyl accident totaled 15,000. On the wider
uncertain. Signs of extensive wear were being reported in scale of Europe other kinds of evidence mounted.
the press by early 1991.
Researchers were able to counter the Soviet claim that no
Scattered around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were other country was affected by radiation from the accident. It
hundreds of dumps of radioactive waste. These usually was all propaganda, claimed the Soviets, when the
consisted of open pits with linings of clay, containing countries of Western Europe refused to accept agricultural
produce from Eastern Europe. Within a year, the evidence of have also been applicable to western plants. Certainly the
widespread devastation was overwhelming and the USSR safety of all Soviet-designed reactors has improved vastly.
was forced to accept it. Scandinavia, Britain, West Germany, This is due largely to the development of a culture of safety
Italy, and all the countries in between had been hit with encouraged by increased collaboration between East and
damaging radiation. A very large area had been West, and substantial investment in improving the reactors.
contaminated.
Modifications have been made to overcome deficiencies in
Sweden was one of the hardest hit with much of the damage all the RBMK reactors still operating. In these, originally the
being carried in rain. An area of 4,040 square miles, 175 nuclear chain reaction and power output would increase if
miles north of Stockholm, was so badly contaminated that cooling water were lost or turned to steam, in contrast to
all the grass had to be harvested and burned. Thousands of most Western designs. It was this effect which caused the
gallons of milk from this same area was poured away daily uncontrolled power surge that led to the destruction of
for some time. In the far north of Chernobyl-4.
Sweden, where the Lapp people live,
levels of radiation was twelve times All of the RMBK reactors have now been
the permissible limit. These people modified by changes in the control rods,
were totally dependent on reindeer for adding neutron absorbers and
almost everything they needed. The consequently increasing the fuel
Swedish government helped pay the enrichment from 1.8 to 2.4% uranium-235
costs of destroying about 50,000 (235U), making them very much more
reindeer. To make matters worse, the stable at low power. Automatic shut-down
vegetation of northern latitudes has a mechanisms now operate faster, and
very slow rate of decay for radiation other safety mechanisms have been
contamination. In 1987 it was improved. Automated inspection
estimated that much of the vegetation equipment has also been installed. A
and soils of the Lapps will remain repetition of the 1986 Chernobyl accident
contaminated until the year 2030. is now virtually impossible, according to a
German nuclear safety agency report.
In December 2000, the last of
Chernobyl's four reactors was shut Since 1989 over 1,000 nuclear engineers
down permanently, the final act in a from the former Soviet Union have visited
financial deal struck between western Western nuclear power plants and there
nations and the Ukraine. The nuclear have been many reciprocal visits. Over 50
power plant and an area extending twinning arrangements between East and
outwards for nineteen miles in all West nuclear plants have been put in
directions became a wasteland as place. Most of this has been under the
badly polluted as was Bikini Atoll, auspices of the World Association of
Marshall Islands, nuclear tests. Like Bikini it will remain a Nuclear Operators, a body formed in 1989
useless desert far beyond the lifetime of those who which links 130 operators of nuclear power plants in more
witnessed the original catastrophe. than 30 countries.

The stone coffin erected around the plant at the time of the Many other international programs were initiated following
accident was still in disrepair in 2000. It had been built over Chernobyl. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
the plant to prevent more radiation escaping and the work safety review projects for each particular type of Soviet
at that time was done at high speed and at enormous risk to reactor are noteworthy, bringing together operators and
all involved. To minimize the health hazard work shifts were Western engineers to focus on safety improvements. These
limited to fifteen minute stints. Even fourteen years later, as initiatives are backed by funding arrangements. The Nuclear
die reactors were being closed down, repair men with Safety Assistance Coordination Centre database lists
special clothing to protect them from radiation could not Western aid totaling almost US$1 billion for more than 700
stay on the roof longer than five minutes at a time. safety-related projects in former Eastern Bloc countries. The
Radiation levels around cracks were seven times higher Nuclear Safety Convention is a more recent outcome. In
than the amounts regarded as unacceptably high. 1998 an agreement with the U.S. provided for the
establishment of an international radioecology laboratory
Impact on reactor design and safety inside the exclusion zone.

Leaving aside the verdict of history on its role in melting the Over a dozen reactors of the same design type are still
Soviet iron curtain, some very tangible practical benefits operating in Russia, Ukraine, and Lithuania. The other three
have resulted from the Chernobyl accident. The main ones reactors at Chernobyl were finally shut down in 2000, 14
concern reactor safety, notably in Eastern Europe. (The U.S. years after the Number Four reactor melted down. Despite
Three Mile Island accident in 1979 had a significant effect the early predictions of nuclear advocates that the
on western reactor design and operating procedures. While probability of a major catastrophe was negligible, we now
that reactor was destroyed, all radioactivities were know that catastrophes do occur. Chernobyl was not even
contained – as designed – and there were no deaths or the first major nuclear accident.
injuries.).

While no-one in the West was under any illusion about the
safety of early Soviet reactor designs, some lessons learned