The history of humankind has witnessed several events that significantly affected large areas shared between several countries. One such incident is the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in modern Ukraine (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The accident happened in 1986 and has influenced numerous lives and regions (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The explosion at Chernobyl is a disaster with long-lasting effects that still present threats to the environment and should be remembered by the society around the globe.
People’s mistakes have contributed to the nuclear tragedy, which the previous administration attempted to conceal. Chernobyl is located north of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the country is neighboring Russia, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Belarus (Mousseau, 2022). The station began to operate in 1977 in the former Soviet Union, and about 14000 people lived in the town before the explosion (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The closest city was Pripyat, with approximately 49000 residents, many of whom were Chernobyl employees and their families (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). A reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, during a safety test, and the incident was due to several reasons, such as human errors, unauthorized manipulations, and design imperfections of the reactor (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The Soviet authorities had tried to hide the occurrence but failed, and the Chernobyl accident later ranked at the maximum classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The fire burned for ten days, and a radioactive plume spread across Europe, with an exclusion zone remaining nearby Chernobyl (Mothersill, 2022). The disaster at Chernobyl has impacted numerous people, especially those who lived nearby.
The Chernobyl accident has caused multiple consequences, primarily because of radiation. Radioactive substances significantly contaminated more than 38000 square miles, affecting vital natural objects like the river Pripyat, which was watering the broader area of Kyiv (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The explosion harmed agricultural lands and pine trees and led to the weakening or dying of wild animals (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). According to Naoum and Spyropoulos (2021), domestic animals inside and outside the Soviet Union also showed increased levels of radioactivity in the following years. Moreover, the incident had an intensive human impact, raising the number of people suffering and passing away from cancer and acute radiation sickness (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). Inhabitants from nearby areas have developed mental health issues due to being worried about the risks of radiation exposure (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). Despite little evidence of the accident expanding congenital disabilities, some European countries have detected a higher number of abortions (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The explosion resulted in damaging lives and the local environment.
Furthermore, the nuclear power station disaster had political and socioeconomic consequences. After the incident, the international community became distrustful of the Soviet Union, and the explosion is perceived to have facilitated the fall of the Union (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). Several countries, mainly European, have spent resources to inspect the amount of radioactivity in soil, water, and food, while Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia lost lands needed for agricultural and forest production (Naoum & Spyropoulos, 2021). The tragedy at Chernobyl has led to expenditures from governments and geopolitical changes.
The territory of the Chernobyl nuclear station remains to be a place of international interest. For several years, the area has attracted scientific expeditions and people interested in visiting sites associated with death, but the situation changed after Russia invaded Ukraine (Mothersill, 2022). According to Mothersill (2022), in the absence of humans, forests grew up in the region that wild animals like wolves, horses, lynxes, and bison started to occupy. However, as Russia entered Ukraine via the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the army brought heavy equipment through contaminated places (Mothersill, 2022; Mousseau, 2022). An environmental threat that such a tactic can cause is the ignition of forest fires, which, worsened by climate change and local dead trees and debris, can result in radioactive fallout (Mousseau, 2022). Such activities as thousands of soldiers passing through, eating, and building campfires near the former nuclear station increase the risk of forest fires (Mousseau, 2022). While radiation in Chernobyl presents relatively fewer hazards, the presence of Russian troops can lead to more environmental issues.
To summarize, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station was a major event that affected neighboring countries, numerous people, and local flora and fauna. The incident that resulted from human errors also harmed human beings, destroying lives, causing physical and psychological traumas, and contaminating water sources and production lands. Although the accident’s aftermath is still immense, the local environment has begun to flourish with new trees and more wild animals. However, the current political conflict with the Russian army entering Ukraine from the nuclear station’s area can potentially initiate forest fires that can ruin nature. Society has to know about such disasters as the explosion at Chernobyl and its outcomes to understand the need to prevent similar events in the future, preserve the environment, and save lives.