The Soviet Union initially attempted to cover up the accident. They downplayed the severity of the explosion and hid it from the media. But scientists picked up on the abnormal amounts of radiation in the air and pressed the Soviet Union for answers. The government admitted to the explosion and the damages provoking international outcry about the safety of nuclear power. The radiation caused an estimated total of $235 billion in damages. Areas miles away needed to be evacuated due to the risk of radiation. The immediate area was deemed an 'exclusion zone' which would be uninhabitable for up to 20,000 years. The event caused such large scale damage it fueled a global anti-nuclear movement. People around the world started protesting against nuclear plants fearing the same might happen in their country.
In the US opinion was mixed. Some were afraid of the dangers on nuclear power, others saw the failure as a show of US superiority. That US engineers were better than Soviet ones as their plants had not melted down. This was important at the time due to tension from the Cold War.
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/chernobyl-disaster/
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx
https://www.britannica.com/event/Chernobyl-disaster
This is a really interesting event in history and I think that you captured it well. Upon doing some more research, I found out that the effects of the Chernobyl disaster are still felt as far away as 700 miles in Germany. In the German state of Saxony, there are even boars, animals that are considered a delicacy in the country, that have been reported as too radioactive for human consumption, most likely due to the boars eating contaminated vegetation. As for the direct effects of the disaster on humans, there has been an estimated 4,000 to 93,000 deaths by cancer on top of what was initially reported, which truly shows the magnitude of the damage and contamination in areas still affected by the disaster.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.popsci.com/article/science/german-boars-are-too-radioactive-eat/
I find it very interesting that you chose to talk about the Chernobyl Disaster along with the US and Soviet reactions. Apparently every 2 weeks something similar to Chernobyl happened due to the structural defects of the Soviet system. The notoriety of Chernobyl reminded the Soviets of the inferiority of their own technology and how they couldn't even protect their own people. As a result, Gorbachev realized that he needed to get his country moving again and end the arms race, so he had more more money to spend on improving living standards of ordinary people. This would result in the INF Treaty and the reduction of the Soviet military.
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