Nuclear Reactors
Name any coolant or moderator.
Water, gas, and heavy water.
Which days and year did the Chernobyl disaster take place?
April 25th to 26th, 1986.
Name one cause of the Chernobyl disaster.
Secrecy, a lack of transparency, technical shortcomings, and inadequate safety measures.
How many hours did it take for an evacuation to be issued?
34.
What year was Viktor Bryukhanov born?
1935.
What are coolants used for?
To remove heat produced from nuclear fission reactions.
Reactor 4 at Chernobyl Power Plant was slowed down to run at around ___ of its original power.
25%.
Which historical event did I use as an example when explaining the causes of Chernobyl?
World War Ⅰ or the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
What approach did the government initially take after being confronted about the Chernobyl disaster?
Remain silent.
Name two of the roles Bryukhanov held at the Angren Thermal Power Plant.
Duty deaerator installer, feed pump driver, turbine assistant, senior turbine engineer, shift supervisor, and workshop director.
What temperatures do nuclear reactors usually operate at?
500°C to 1000°C
How many control rods were taken out of reactor 4?
200.
What does ORM stand for?
Operating Reactivity Margin.
Why was reactor 3 shut down?
To ensure it didn't catch on fire and cause another disaster.
______ and _____ concerns led to the decision to build RBMK reactors instead.
Economic, safety.
Nuclear reactors are designed with various _____ and _______ systems to generate power efficiently.
cooling, moderating.
Who the shift manager and person responsible for overseeing the test being conducted on reactor 4?
Anatoly Dyatlov.
Why did the Soviets believe their lack of safety features increased overall security?
They believed too many unnecessary backup systems could only lead to operational complexities, thus decreasing the overall safety.
How hot was the inside of reactor 4 after the explosions?
Around 1200°C
Where did Bryukhanov obtain his degree in electrical engineering?
The Energy Department of the Tashkent Polytechnic.
Explain how a nuclear reactor is able to generate electricity.
Inside the reactor, neutrons split uranium atoms, creating more neutrons. This cycle repeats itself, establishing a chain reaction. Chain reactions produce intense levels of heat, which is then harnessed to turn water into steam. The steam runs through the turbines and spins them. The movement causes all the energy to be converted into electricity.
At precisely what time (seconds) and date did the actual test begin?
1:23 am and 4 seconds on April 26th, 1986.
What was the primary organization tasked with supervising the safety of nuclear reactor facilities?
GosAtomEnergoNadzor (the State Committee for the Supervision of Nuclear Power Safety)
When the evacuation of Pripyat was issued, how high were the radiation levels?
600 milliroentgens per hour.
Who ordered operators to maintain the coolant supply, alongside Bryukhanov, and what position did he hold?
]Nikolai Fomin, chief engineer.