On This Day, April 26, 1986 one of the worst nuclear accidents in history occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union. During a late-night safety test, errors by operators and design flaws caused an uncontrolled nuclear reaction in Reactor No. 4, triggering explosions that blew off the reactor’s lid and released massive amounts of radioactive particles.
As plumes of radiation spread over the western Soviet Union and Europe, the evacuation of the nearby town of Pripyat was dangerously delayed. In the ensuing weeks and months, the radioactive fallout contaminated a vast area, displacing hundreds of thousands and rendering territories uninhabitable for generations. Cancer rates later spiked due to radiation exposure.
The Chernobyl disaster had a catastrophic environmental and economic impact while raising public fears about nuclear safety worldwide. Its legacy raising global awareness about the potential horrors and human costs of nuclear accidents would reverberate for decades.
