History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe Term Paper

History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe - Term Paper Example The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Number 4 located in the city of Prypiat in north central Ukraine exploded on April 26th, 1986 (Newtan 137). This is one of the world's worst and most catastrophic nuclear events. It is recorded to be at a scale ten times the magnitude of the atomic bomb explosion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War (Brack 71). The explosion had a tremendous effect on the people living in the region as well as people living in nearby countries. This is because the radioactive substances of the explosion were transferred by wind to other nations in the then communist bloc of Eastern Europe. The subsequent evaporation of these radioactive materials led to tremendous suffering and detrimental effects on both humans, plants and animals in the region. A lot of subsequent events suggest that the Chernobyl disaster had a strong effect on the fetuses which led to the birth of deformed babies. Another issue was the prevalence of cancer and typhoid amon gst children. This paper examines the relationship between this nuclear incident and the political, social and environmental structures of the Soviet system. The paper views how the inactions and failures of the Soviet government led to serious consequences for the communities in and around the areas affected by the nuclear disaster. The paper goes on to identify the effects of the nuclear incident on the environment of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia that was affected by the radioactive substances... These three points indicate that there were significant and clearcut failures of the Soviet authorities in taking relevant steps to prevent and/or contain an incident of the magnitude of the Chernobyl disaster. Aleksievich & Gessen identify that there was a woman who clinched to her husband whilst he was dying. This was something that responsible health officials should have prevented. Although the nurses warned the woman saying â€Å"that is not a person anymore. That is a nuclear reactor† (51), the failed to stop the woman. This means that inevitably, the woman also suffered some kind of damage. If the nurses and the health authorities had the right measures in place, people would have passed on humanely in isolated conditions and there would have been less implications for the wider society. In an effort to contain the incident, hunters were dispatched to evacuate villages and killed household pets. This is something that is absolutely unprofessional and shows that the Sovi et regime concentrated more on other things and absolutely neglected disaster relieve organizations and agencies. On the site, there was strong evidence that the persons dispatched had little experience and materials to contain the effects of the reactor. Soldiers and engineers hurled lead and stones into the plant with the hope of containing the fire (Mould 17). This was clearly unprofessional and they were obviously not prepared for such an event. Also, there is clear evidence that the Soviet Authorities used propaganda to secure public confidence. This boils down to the complicated structure of governance of the Soviet Union which involved a desire to keep the system working at all costs (Carter & Christensen 202). In Alesievich & Gessen's accounts, the