Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, about 100 kilometers north of Kyiv, built with four RBMK-1000 reactors that entered commercial operation between 1977 and 1983 for a combined nameplate capacity of 3,515 megawatts. On 26 April 1986 reactor No. 4 suffered a catastrophic meltdown during a safety test, causing a core explosion and open air fires that released radioactive material across large parts of Europe, in what is widely regarded as the worst accident in the history of nuclear power. The plant's three surviving reactors kept generating power for years afterward, the last shutting down in 2000, and the site has been undergoing decommissioning since 2015, a process expected to continue until 2065.
Facts
Facility TypeNuclear power plant (decommissioning) 1 LocationNear Pripyat, northern Ukraine 1 Capacity (MW)The plant's four RBMK-1000 reactors were each rated at 1,000 MW electrical (4,000 MW combined nameplate); Reactor No. 4 was destroyed in the 1986 accident and the station is now undergoing decommissioning. Commissioned YearReactor No. 1 was commissioned on 26 September 1977; the plant's later reactors followed in stages up to 1983. Connections
Associated With
IAEA created the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group in 1985, producing INSAG-1 (1986) and INSAG-7 (1992) on the Chernobyl accident, and coordinated oversight of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
Uses Source
RBMK reactor station, Ukraine, site of the 1986 accident; Reactor 4 is entombed, the site is decommissioning.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Ukraine, located there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia article, introduction paragraph
near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine
Wikipedia article, construction history section
four RBMK-1000 reactors, each capable of producing 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electric power
Wikipedia article infobox, commissioned field
26 September 1977
Operating status, entity description
the site has been undergoing decommissioning since 2015, a process expected to continue until 2065.
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