At 11:55 p.m. on April 25, 1986, arguably the worst disaster in the history of nuclear technology began to unfold at reactor no. 4 in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Only the accident at the Fukushima reactor in Japan in 2011 was comparable. The great difference between the two events was that the one at Fukushima was caused by an earthquake that generated a tsunami, whereas the one at Chernobyl was caused by human stupidity. Much has been written about this accident, and now in “Midnight in Chernobyl” the journalist Adam Higginbotham presents an account that reads almost like the script for a movie.
This Chernobyl reactor, completed in 1983, was of a design that could produce both electric power and plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. On April 25, a test had been scheduled on a safety system for the reactor. Because the individual who was supposed to be supervising the test had not shown up, a very green operator was put at the controls.
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