Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
View of the plant in 2013. From L to R New Safe Confinement under construction and reactors 4 to 1.
Map
Official nameChernobyl Atomic Energy Station
CountryUkraine
LocationPripyat
Coordinates51°23′21″N 30°05′58″E / 51.38917°N 30.09944°E / 51.38917; 30.09944
StatusInactive
Construction began15 August 1972
Commission date26 September 1977 (1977-09-26)
Decommission dateProcess ongoing since 2000
Operator(s)SAUEZM
Nuclear power station
Reactors4
Reactor typeRBMK-1000
Thermal capacity12,800 MW
Power generation
Units operationalNone
Nameplate capacity4,000 MW
External links
Websitechnpp.gov.ua/en
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant currently under decommissioning near the city of Pripyat in the Kyiv region, which operated from 1977 to 2000.

History

Construction of the station began in 1970, the first unit was launched in 1977. The nuclear power plant is located at a distance of 2 km from the city of Prypyat, built primarily for its employees. The name is associated with the city of Chernobyl, then the district center of this area. As of the beginning of 1986, Chernobyl was the most powerful nuclear power plant in the European part of the USSR. On April 26, 1986, during a design test, an accident occurred that completely destroyed the station's fourth reactor and caused significant contamination of the surrounding area with radioactive substances. As a result of this catastrophe, the population of Prypyat, Chornobyl and all other settlements within a radius of about 30 km around the station was completely evacuated. Today the accident itself is one of the largest man-made disasters in human history.[1][2][3]

References

  1. "Chornobyl nuclear power plant site to be cleared by 2065". web.archive.org. 2012-10-05. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2021-05-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "Radiation high over Europe after Chernobyl disaster – archive, 3 May 1986". the Guardian. 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  3. Rodgers, James. "How The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Shaped Russia And Ukraine's Modern History". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-28.