CHERNOBYL
ACCIDENT
On April 26, 1986, an explosion rocked a nuclear plant in
Chernobyl in Ukraine at 1:23 a.m. A reactor had
exploded. Alarms sounded while a huge fire raged.
Firefighters came to the plant to fight the flames of the worst
nuclear disaster in history. Workers had run a safety test on the
plant’s reactors at low power. This was a bad design though because the
reactors were not stable at low power. Safety rules were not followed and the
emergency systems had been shut off. The power rose and the heat increased.
Fuel tubes burst and the steam continued to build. There were two explosions
that sent radioactive material into the air. The material escaped for ten days. The
surrounding air, soil, plants, and people were harmed by the pollution. Two
workers died right away, while over 100 workers were hurt. 28 more people died
within four months because the radiation made them sick.
FISSION
Nuclear plants make electricity, but they do not burn fuel.
They use uranium, a radioactive element mined from the
ground, instead. Strong bonds hold uranium atoms together.
Splitting the bonds lets out energy in a process called fission. In
a nuclear plant, fission warms water to turn it into steam. The
steam then turns turbines to spin generators to make electricity.
This process produces radioactive waste. This is the waste that
escaped during the accident at Chernobyl.
Most nuclear plants have large containment buildings to keep
radioactive waste from escaping. Chernobyl’s plant did not have
these though. The area was not safe, so anyone who lived
nearby had to leave. Over 335,000 people were forced to leave
their homes. Many never came back. Workers built a shelter for
the plant, but it was a temporary fix and started to crumble. A
new shelter was built over the old one in 2016. It was the
largest object ever moved by people. It should last 100 years.
People learned from the accident at Chernobyl. New designs
were made to improve machines. Nuclear plants today have
emergency plans and evacuation plans in case of accidents.
©Teaching to the Middle
CONTAINMENT
Name __________________________________
CHERNOBYL
IDENTIFY: Use the word bank to identify each description.
uranium
fission
reactor
radioactive
nuclear
Ukraine
turbines
containment
28
1. Process of splitting the bonds to let
out energy
2. Chernobyl was this type of power plant
3. Radioactive element used to power
nuclear plants
4. This exploded at Chernobyl
5. Number of people who died within four
months from radiation exposure
6. This material was sent into the air
after the explosion at Chernobyl
8. Chernobyl did not have these buildings
to keep radioactive waste from escaping
9. Chernobyl is located in this country
©Teaching to the Middle
7. Spin generators to make electricity
CHERNOBYL
ACCIDENT
On April 26, 1986, an explosion rocked a nuclear plant in
Chernobyl in Ukraine at 1:23 a.m. A reactor had
exploded. Alarms sounded while a huge fire raged.
Firefighters came to the plant to fight the flames of the worst
nuclear disaster in history. Workers had run a safety test on the
plant’s reactors at low power. This was a bad design though because the
reactors were not stable at low power. Safety rules were not followed and the
emergency systems had been shut off. The power rose and the heat increased.
Fuel tubes burst and the steam continued to build. There were two explosions
that sent radioactive material into the air. The material escaped for ten days. The
surrounding air, soil, plants, and people were harmed by the pollution. Two
workers died right away, while over 100 workers were hurt. 28 more people died
within four months because the radiation made them sick.
FISSION
Nuclear plants make electricity, but they do not burn fuel.
They use uranium, a radioactive element mined from the
ground, instead. Strong bonds hold uranium atoms together.
Splitting the bonds lets out energy in a process called fission. In
a nuclear plant, fission warms water to turn it into steam. The
steam then turns turbines to spin generators to make electricity.
This process produces radioactive waste. This is the waste that
escaped during the accident at Chernobyl.
Most nuclear plants have large containment buildings to keep
radioactive waste from escaping. Chernobyl’s plant did not have
these though. The area was not safe, so anyone who lived
nearby had to leave. Over 335,000 people were forced to leave
their homes. Many never came back. Workers built a shelter for
the plant, but it was a temporary fix and started to crumble. A
new shelter was built over the old one in 2016. It was the
largest object ever moved by people. It should last 100 years.
People learned from the accident at Chernobyl. New designs
were made to improve machines. Nuclear plants today have
emergency plans and evacuation plans in case of accidents.
©Teaching to the Middle
CONTAINMENT
Name __________________________________
CHERNOBYL
IDENTIFY: Use the word bank to identify each description.
uranium
fission
reactor
radioactive
nuclear
Ukraine
turbines
containment
28
1. Process of splitting the bonds to let
out energy
2. Chernobyl was this type of power plant
3. Radioactive element used to power
nuclear plants
4. This exploded at Chernobyl
5. Number of people who died within four
months from radiation exposure
6. This material was sent into the air
after the explosion at Chernobyl
8. Chernobyl did not have these buildings
to keep radioactive waste from escaping
9. Chernobyl is located in this country
©Teaching to the Middle
7. Spin generators to make electricity
Name _KEY_________________________________
CHERNOBYL
IDENTIFY: Use the word bank to identify each description.
uranium
fission
reactor
radioactive
nuclear
Ukraine
turbines
containment
28
fission
1. Process of splitting the bonds to let
out energy
nuclear
2. Chernobyl was this type of power plant
uranium
3. Radioactive element used to power
nuclear plants
reactor
4. This exploded at Chernobyl
5. Number of people who died within four
months from radiation exposure
radioactive
6. This material was sent into the air
after the explosion at Chernobyl
turbines
7. Spin generators to make electricity
containment
Ukraine
8. Chernobyl did not have these buildings
to keep radioactive waste from escaping
9. Chernobyl is located in this country
©Teaching to the Middle
28
THANKS!
©Teaching to the Middle
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