Chernobyl disaster

E85175

The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic 1986 nuclear power plant accident in Soviet-era Ukraine that released massive radioactive contamination across Europe and became one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Chernobyl 2

Statements (61)

Predicate Object
instanceOf historical event
industrial accident
man-made disaster
nuclear disaster
radiological contamination event
cause flawed reactor design
poor safety culture
violation of operating procedures
cleanupOperationName liquidation
cleanupWorkersTerm liquidators
commemorationDate 26 April each year
contaminationSpreadTo Belarus
Central Europe
Russia
Scandinavia
Ukraine
Western Europe
countryAtTime Soviet Union
culturalImpact numerous books, films, and documentaries
date 1986-04-26
directWorkerAndFirefighterDeaths 28 from acute radiation syndrome
estimatedAffectedPeople hundreds of thousands
evacuatedCity Pripyat
evacuationRadiusExpanded 30 km
evacuationRadiusInitial 10 km
firstInternationalDetection Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden
immediateDeaths 31
impactOnEnergyPolicy slowed nuclear power expansion in Europe
impactOnEnvironment creation of Chernobyl radiation-affected ecosystem
initialInformationHandling Soviet government secrecy
internationalScaleRating INES level 7
ledTo creation of international nuclear safety conventions
reforms in nuclear safety standards
location Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Kyiv Oblast NERFINISHED
Soviet Ukraine
surface form: Ukrainian SSR

near Pripyat
longTermHealthConcern increased cancer risk
psychological trauma
thyroid cancer in exposed children
memorializedBy Chernobyl Museum in Kyiv
newSafeConfinementCompletionYear 2016
notableDramatization Chernobyl
surface form: 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl
oneOfWorstNuclearAccidentsWith Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
operator Soviet nuclear power authorities
protectiveStructure Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
surface form: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus

New Safe Confinement
radioisotopesReleased cesium-137
iodine-131
plutonium isotopes
strontium-90
reactorInvolved Reactor No. 4
reactorType RBMK-1000
result core meltdown
creation of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
graphite fire
long-term environmental contamination
massive radioactive release
steam explosion
triggerEvent late-night safety test
year 1986

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Polesia affectedBy Chernobyl disaster
Soviet Ukraine experiencedEvent Chernobyl disaster
Ukraine historicalEvent Chernobyl disaster
Northern Ukraine historicallyAffectedBy Chernobyl disaster
this entity surface form: Chernobyl
Stellan Skarsgård notableWork Chernobyl disaster
this entity surface form: Chernobyl