Chernobyl – 40 years on
Forty years after Chernobyl, this disaster is not an end point, but a basis for insight: from international monitoring networks such as EURDEP, through health assessments by UNSCEAR/WHO, to advances in reactor design and dosimetry. SCK CEN acts as an anchor for expertise in this chain: we measure, interpret, and improve.
-
The accident
On 26 April 1986, a night-time test in reactor 4 at Chernobyl turned into the most serious nuclear disaster in the history of civil nuclear energy. The accident in the RBMK reactor, which were typically used in the former Soviet Union, led to an explosion and a fire that raged for days, spreading radioactive material across large parts of Europe.
How could this have happened? And what are the consequences today?
-
How we measure and what we know
The radioactive cloud that drifted across Europe carried radionuclides that are still measurable today. The quantities and precise impact of this radioactivity were and still are measured and analysed by our experts. We have travelled to the region around the exploded nuclear reactor on several occasions to carry out field campaigns.
-
Emergency planning and notification
The former Soviet Union initially tried to cover up the disaster. It was only several days later that measurements of radioactive caesium in Sweden brought the accident to light. The result was far-reaching changes in international nuclear regulations. There were also consequences for Belgium: the FANC was set up just a few years after the disaster. SCK CEN made a significant contribution to the roll-out and further development of nuclear emergency planning in our country.
-
Insights into reactor design
The reactor that exploded in Chernobyl was a specific design that we do not have in Belgium. But how does that reactor design differ from our current nuclear power plants? How well can our reactors withstand external influences, how are they tested, and how do we ensure that future reactors are even safer?
Chernobyl in the media
We now know what led to the accident, minute by minute. Films and series have been made about it, of varying quality and accuracy. The documentary ‘In de ban van Tsjernobyl' (Under the spell of Chernobyl), broadcast on Canvas in 2020 following the immensely popular HBO series ‘Chernobyl’, is highly accurate and interesting. At the time, we published a web article to accompany this documentary. The article summarised the events that led to the disaster, explaining the consequences for Belgium and the rest of Europe, and also took a brief look at the devastating forest fires that raged in the area in 2020.
RReeaadd oouurr wweebb aarrttiiccllee aabboouutt tthhee ddooccuummeennttaarryy hheerree