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Unit 1 Chernobyl
Listening 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.
The explosion spread radioactive gas and other harmful materials into the air. The
resulting radioactive cloud spread over Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The most serious
radiation contamination was limited to the ten miles around the plant, which is still too
contaminated for humans to live in. A total of 56 people died immediately after the accident,
but because the effects of radiation poisoning often only surface after many years, the true
death toll may never be known. Studies have shown that areas affected by the accident have
cancer rates that are up to ten times higher than normal.
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Listening 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.
The explosion spread radioactive gas and other harmful materials into the air. The
resulting radioactive cloud spread over Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The most serious
radiation contamination was limited to the ten miles around the plant, which is still too
contaminated for humans to live in. A total of 56 people died immediately after the accident,
but because the effects of radiation poisoning often only surface after many years, the true
death toll may never be known. Studies have shown that areas affected by the accident have
cancer rates that are up to ten times higher than normal.
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