answersLogoWhite

0

The chernobyl reactor had only been finished and placed in operation a few years earlier and had been rushed in construction, skipping several important safety tests to meet the construction schedule. The primary cause of the accident that night was trying to perform one of these tests with the reactor in a very unstable range of operation that the procedures required immediate shutdown of the reactor for safety. The test supervisor ordered the operators to keep the reactor running and disable automatic shutdown and safety systems so he could proceed with the test without interruption. If they would not follow his orders he would replace them with operators that would. They did. The result was the reactor was destroyed, many people died, and vast areas around it were contaminated. RBMK reactors are inherently unsafe.

The chernobyl reactor site will remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Unfortunately the sarcophagus is already wearing out and will have to be replaced at least every 50 years.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?