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Unit 1 Chernobyl
Reading Comprehension
During the 1980s, there was strong, worldwide opposition to nuclear
power. This opposition increased in 1986 after an explosion at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union, which, to date, still stands as
the worst nuclear accident in history. Over 135,000 people had to leave their
homes because of the accident, and the areas around the power plant still
remain highly contaminated.
The accident was largely due to the bad design of the nuclear reactor
in the power plant and the failure of workers at the plant to follow proper
safety procedures. On April 25th workers at the power plant were testing on
how it operated at low power. In order to run these tests, they removed all
but eight control rods, which control the rate of the nuclear reaction in the
reactor and prevent an uncontrolled reaction. Safety procedures called for a
minimum of thirty control rods to be used at any one time, but these were
ignored. During the tests, the reactor became unstable and started producing
far too much power. Without enough control rods, the workers were unable to
slow down the reaction, and the reactor exploded.
5
Reading Comprehension
During the 1980s, there was strong, worldwide opposition to nuclear
power. This opposition increased in 1986 after an explosion at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union, which, to date, still stands as
the worst nuclear accident in history. Over 135,000 people had to leave their
homes because of the accident, and the areas around the power plant still
remain highly contaminated.
The accident was largely due to the bad design of the nuclear reactor
in the power plant and the failure of workers at the plant to follow proper
safety procedures. On April 25th workers at the power plant were testing on
how it operated at low power. In order to run these tests, they removed all
but eight control rods, which control the rate of the nuclear reaction in the
reactor and prevent an uncontrolled reaction. Safety procedures called for a
minimum of thirty control rods to be used at any one time, but these were
ignored. During the tests, the reactor became unstable and started producing
far too much power. Without enough control rods, the workers were unable to
slow down the reaction, and the reactor exploded.
5
