Chernobyl disaster, accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union in 1986, the worst disaster in nuclear power generation history. Between 2 and 50 people were killed in the initial explosions, and dozens more contracted serious radiation sickness, some of whom later died.

Considered history’s worst nuclear accident, the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986 killed 31 people directly, many due to radiation poisoning during the cleanup. The area around the...

On 26 April 1986, the Number Four reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in what then was the Soviet Union during improper testing at low-power, resulted in loss of control that led to an explosion and fire that demolished the reactor building and released large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

Covered up by a secretive Soviet Union at the time, the true number of deaths and illnesses caused by the nuclear accident are only now becoming clear. Springtime was always the busiest time of...

Learn how a routine safety test at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986 led to a series of explosions, fires and radiation leaks that killed 31 people and contaminated a large area. See the key events and decisions that made the Chernobyl disaster one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.

On April 25 and 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history unfolded in what is now northern Ukraine as a reactor at a nuclear power plant exploded and burned. Shrouded in secrecy,...

Learn about the history, health effects, and U.S. response to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. Find out how the NRC ensures the safety of U.S. reactors and protects the public and the environment.

The Chernobyl disaster, considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant suffered the worst nuclear accident in history after reactor number four exploded on April 26, 1986. An enormous amount of rapidly spreading radioactive products were released as a result of the accident.