This entry will be published right around the moment 40 years ago where Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in norther Ukraine exploded, resulting in radioactive contamination across swaths of Europe and forever changing the direction and perception of Nuclear Power.
There is an incredible amount I could and do want to say about this event. I’ve written a few pieces many years ago but never truly dived into the disaster from my own perspective. Beyond that, I’ve never taken the time to talk about the most critical element of the disaster — the RBMK nuclear reactor — a machine that I fully acknowledge was an incredibly flawed and downright dangerous design, but also a machine I find quite amazing in spite of the flaws and dangers associated with it.
The tragedy of the Chornobyl Disaster is not just one of radioactive contamination, of the abandonment of Pryp’iat, of those who died in the immediate explosion, weeks later, or years later due to the effects of radiation exposure; no, the tragedy is also one of a nations quest for electrical power for its populate on its own terms. It was a tragedy that has, among other incidents like the prior Three Mile Island incident and the latter Fukushima Disaster, created an overblown fear of safety with nuclear power, causing in many ways everyone in the world to suffer as our reliance on fossil fuels continues. Only very recently, as in, the past few years, have I noticed that support for Nuclear Power is finally returning in earnest.
I wish I could truly say more in the moment, but, between me recovering from illness and the sheer scope of what I wish to say about the event, I don’t have the time or energy currently, in this one post, to even begin expressing things as I wish. Hopefully soon I’ll begin, piece by piece, sharing thoughts, commentary, and interesting finds regarding this incredible moment in history.
Oh, and yes, for this piece, I’ve chosen to use the Ukrainian variants of major location names. It just felt proper and while I’ll certainly use the Russified names often, since that’s how I’ve been writing, typing, and reading them for my entire life, still, an attempt to be correct to the nation and people that are the custodians of this tragedy felt appropriate.
