The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown holds a special place in history as one of the worst disasters ever caused by human activity. The nuclear plant at Chernobyl was built to produce electricity for the area, and ran successfully for almost 10 years. In April of 1986, operators made errors while performing a safety test, and one of the nuclear reactors exploded. The authoritiesimmediately tried to keep the event quiet. So, the people of the area were not well-informed about the dangers of the radioactive material that had been released.
Thousands of people were eventually removed from the area. The Ukrainian town of Pripyat was the first to be moved out. People living there were told to pack enough for just a few days and to leave their pets and animals behind. Sadly, they were never able to return due to the high levels of radioactivity. The entire area became a deserted “Exclusion Zone,” with no human activity except for the workers there to repair the plant.
In the months after the incident, the damaged reactor was closed offin a protective concretebuilding. The Chernobyl plant continued to produce electricity until the year 2000. Clean-upis expected to be completed by 2065.
