Post-disaster reflection on Chernobyl

The Chernobyl nuclear accident is undoubtedly the darkest scene in the history of human disasters. On the tragic morning of April 26th, 1986 reminded countless people of the term nuclear disaster. Thirty years later, the people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia who were deeply affected by the accident still live in the shadow of the nuclear accident. 1 In the early morning of April 26th, 986124, the No.4 reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant suddenly exploded. A pillar of fire more than 30 meters high exploded the reactor shell, causing more than 8 tons of radioactive materials to leak, 3.2 million people were injured by nuclear radiation, 2,294 residential areas were polluted by nuclear radiation, and 8 million hectares of land became a radioactive dust landing zone. About 50,000 residents in Pripyat, only 3 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant, were evacuated, and it is still an uninhabited "dead city". The area around the nuclear power plant with a radius of 30 kilometers has become an isolated area, and personnel are strictly restricted from entering.

After the accident, in order to prevent nuclear materials and radioactive substances from leaking again, the government closed the reinforced concrete bunker (commonly known as "sarcophagus") of Unit 4 that exploded, and completely closed the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from June 5438 to February 2000. Twenty years after the accident, ecologists were surprised to find that the "dead zone" around the "sarcophagus" has become a "paradise" for animals and plants. There are more than 270 species of birds living here, and the lush vegetation provides shelter for wild boar, deer and other animals.

Every year, some people who don't want to leave their homeland voluntarily return to the quarantine area to live. There are 500-800 residents in the quarantine area, most of whom are retirees. The houses where the old people live have electricity, and some have telephones. They grow vegetables, raise poultry, fish and hunt in isolated areas and live a self-sufficient life. The World Health Organization reported on April 18 that in the past 20 years, about 9,335 people died of cancer and other diseases caused by nuclear leakage. However, Greenpeace believes that the death toll from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia is 10 times this figure.

According to information released by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, 2.64 million Ukrainians suffered from nuclear radiation and 654.38 million+people lost their homes. Pines and spruces within 7 kilometers from the nuclear power plant withered, and 1000 hectares of forest gradually died. The "safety zone" 30 kilometers away is also unsafe, and the number of cancer patients, children with thyroid diseases and deformed livestock has increased dramatically.

Because it is only a few kilometers away from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, most of the dust with radioactive substances falls into Belarus with the wind. 23% of the territory of Belarus is polluted, most people are exposed to different degrees of nuclear radiation, 6,000 square kilometers of land can not be used, and more than 400 settlements have become no man's land.

Russia also suffered heavy losses in the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Onishchenko, chief physician of health and epidemic prevention in Russia, said on April 24th that about 4,300 towns and villages in Russia were located in areas that suffered radioactive pollution after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, with more than 6,543.8+0.5 million residents. Although 29 years have passed, the nightmare caused by the Chernobyl nuclear accident is far from over. First of all, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant still has potential safety hazards. At present, about 200 tons of nuclear materials are still stored under the sarcophagus. In recent years, the top of the "sarcophagus" is inclined, cracks appear on the surface, and there is even the danger of collapse. More dangerously, the solid shell can't stop the infiltration of groundwater. Nuclear materials in the reactor continue to pollute the surrounding area with groundwater and endanger the drinking water source in Ukraine. Therefore, this "sarcophagus" was called "delayed detonation mine" by Russian media.

What is even more frightening is that the psychological shadow caused by the nuclear accident is difficult to eliminate. "One day in April 2006, a violent earthquake swept through Yuanye, Ukraine, in terrible thunder. The death zone of Chernobyl then expanded rapidly, and for a time, the whole world seemed to be plunged into an inexplicable crisis ... "This is the theme introduction in the latest game" The Shadow of Chernobyl "developed by a Ukrainian company. In the past 20 years, the nuclear crisis in fantasy games reminds people not to forget the past.

Nowadays, any nuclear-related topic will still touch the sensitive nerves of the Ukrainian people. Whether it is necessary to develop nuclear power, how to ensure the safety of nuclear power and how to deal with nuclear waste have caused widespread controversy in Ukrainian society. In order to get rid of its dependence on Russia in the field of nuclear power, at the end of last year, the Ukrainian government decided to cooperate with American companies to build a nuclear waste repository, which caused many people to panic. A local scholar once told reporters that he was worried that the construction of nuclear storage would increase the threat of nuclear pollution in Ukraine.

In Gomel, Belarus, parents send their children to Minsk to attend universities or technical secondary schools, hoping that they will not go back to their hometown after graduation. The people of Belarus have even reached the point of talking about "nuclear" discoloration. Last year, neighboring Lithuania proposed to build a nuclear waste storage site on the border with Belarus, which aroused strong protests from all walks of life in Belarus. Opponents believe that "any new nuclear accident will lead to the destruction of Belarus." In Russia, many people are still worried about Chernobyl. A Russian friend of the reporter said with emotion: "The nuclear accident will be deeply remembered by the Russians and will never be erased." In the past 29 years, all affected countries have made great efforts to get out of the shadow of Chernobyl as soon as possible. Ukrainian President Yushchenko said recently that Ukraine has invested $654.38+05 billion in disaster relief in the past 20 years. In order to prevent the nuclear material in the reactor from leaking again, Ukraine plans to build a bunker with a height of 100 m and a width of 250 m on the surface of the sarcophagus, and the project will start in the summer of 2006. This "new sarcophagus" will ensure that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant will not leak again in the next 100 years. 20 12 March 27, former Ukrainian president viktor? Viktor Yanukovych announced that Ukraine will start construction on April 26th to build a new "sarcophagus" for the No.4 nuclear reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The new sarcophagus will cost 935 million euros (about 7.8 billion yuan), most of which will be donated by governments around the world, and the funds provided by Ukraine will only account for 6% of the total. On August 2-4, 20 14, the lower part of the arch (the sarcophagus reported by the media) successfully rose to 33 meters high after being assembled on the ground, which was an important milestone in coping with the new safety restrictions (NSC) of the long-term nuclear accident treatment plan. The second part of the arch contains a large number of steel frames and must be sent to the ground before the whole part is completed. The new sarcophagus built by Ukraine for Chernobyl nuclear power plant is planned to be used 100.

The Belarusian government has established a nationwide nuclear radiation monitoring network and built 239 new villages with perfect living facilities for relocated residents in unpolluted areas. Heavily polluted land exceeding 1000 square kilometers is classified as a nuclear ecological nature reserve, and no one is allowed to live in it, so only nuclear ecological research can be carried out. Nearly 6.5438+0.2 million people who participated in the nuclear accident rescue work in that year enjoyed special medical care. The state provides free medical care and living allowance for people disabled by nuclear radiation. With the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident approaching on April 26th, 2006, a "Chernobyl fever" has arisen in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

On April 24th, 2006, a three-day international academic conference "Looking forward to the future in the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident" opened in Kiev National Grand Theatre. Representatives of the United Nations, the European Union, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international organizations and relevant countries attended the meeting. Ukrainian President Yushchenko said at the opening ceremony that Ukraine will unswervingly fulfill its international obligations. On the opening day of the conference, some environmental organizations in Ukraine held demonstrations outside the venue. People held high slogans such as "Remember Chernobyl" to protest the government's decision to build 22 new nuclear power plants and build a nuclear waste repository in Uzbekistan by 2030. On April 26th, Yushchenko will personally go to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its satellite city Slaodzic to attend the commemorative activities. At 9 o'clock that night, a candlelight mourning event will be held throughout Ukraine.

Recently, reports about the serious consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Belarus have often appeared on TV and newspapers. 19 from April to February1April, a large-scale international academic seminar entitled "Twenty Years of Chernobyl Nuclear Accident-Strategies for Restoration and Stability of the Affected Areas" was held in Minsk, China. On April 19, the photo exhibition "The Pain of Chernobyl" was held in Minsk. 2 1, the documentary Chernobyl Cross premiered in Baidu Cinema. People use words like "pain" and "black" to describe the injuries caused by accidents.

Moscow also held a photo exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, which attracted many tourists. ITV, one of Russia's largest television stations, broadcast a special documentary commemorating the Chernobyl nuclear accident in prime time on the evening of 24th. Youth Pravda, the newspaper with the largest circulation in Russia, published a special commemorative article "Chernobyl: 20 years after hell" on the 25th. Russian President Vladimir Putin also issued a commendation order for meritorious officials in the Chernobyl nuclear accident on the 25th. The Chernobyl nuclear accident not only made Ukraine, Belarus and Russia "the hardest hit areas", but also the dust with radioactive substances drifted to Bulgaria, Poland and Germany with the wind ... Most parts of Europe failed to escape the threat of nuclear pollution. Therefore, the Chernobyl nuclear accident is not only a disaster for Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, but also a disaster for Europe and even the whole world.

After the accident, the safety of human use of nuclear energy was questioned. Many countries shut down nuclear power plants under the pressure of public opinion, and the development of nuclear energy in the world has fallen into an unprecedented trough. There is a heated debate about the future development direction of nuclear energy. Today, 25 years later, the world is still shrouded in the nuclear shadow, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iranian nuclear crisis ... In this context, the arrival of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident naturally attracted the attention of the whole world.

In 2006, the International Atomic Energy Agency dedicated a special topic to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident on its website, telling people the cause of the accident and issuing warnings through a large number of words, pictures and videos. On April1April-24, Associated Press published reports continuously, and made a comprehensive analysis of this incident through historical review, current situation introduction, reporter's personal experience, questioning and reflection. AFP, Reuters, The New York Times and other major media in the world have reported on this, and each one has conveyed people's concern about the safe development and utilization of nuclear energy to the world with its own unique influence.

"For millions of people in the world, Chernobyl symbolizes disaster and destruction, doubt and controversy." This sentence may sum up what the Chernobyl nuclear accident has brought to mankind.