Why did the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explode?

Officials have two contradictory explanations about the cause of the accident.

First, in August, 1986, the first accident investigation report was published, in which the main responsibility was attributed to the irregular operation of the nuclear power plant staff. The following year, six surviving nuclear power plant managers were charged with dereliction of duty.

However, the report was quickly accused of being based on a series of intentionally misleading information. Among them, Anatoly Gatlov, the deputy chief engineer, who was considered to be mainly responsible, always denied the verdict, and published a large number of testimonies after 199 1 was released from prison through Amnesty, trying to prove that the Chernobyl accident was not caused by the wrong operation of the staff at that time.

Second, 1992, the second edition of the investigation report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency largely supports their views. According to this report, although there are indeed many wrong operations by field staff, the root cause of the accident is still the long-term uncorrected design defects of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the "general lack of safety culture" prevailing in the Soviet nuclear industry—or the entire industrial system.

Extended data

Environmental effect

After the accident, the quarantine area became a paradise for some wild animals. Although animals are also exposed to radiation, the damage to them is very slight compared with humans, so it is a good thing that they have an accident. Animals in isolated areas, such as mice, have adapted to radiation and their life span is similar to that of mice in areas not affected by radiation.

The following animals have reappeared or been introduced into the quarantine area: bobcats, owls, egrets, swans, suspected bears, European bison, Mongolian wild horses, badgers, beavers, wild boar, deer, elk, foxes, rabbits, otters, raccoons, wolves, waterfowl, gray-blue tits, black grouse, black storks, cranes and so on.

Report of the Chernobyl Forum In September 2005, the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Governments of Ukraine and Belarus and other United Nations organizations cooperated to complete a comprehensive report on the nuclear accident.

The report pointed out that the death toll in this incident reached 4,000, and the World Health Organization included 47 disaster relief workers who died of nuclear radiation and 9 children who died of thyroid cancer. In April, 2006, the United Nations announced the findings of the World Health Organization. More than 5,000 other victims may have died in radioactive dust areas (including Ukraine, Belarus and Russia). So, the total number of victims is about 9000.

Baidu encyclopedia-Chernobyl incident