As climate change becomes a more serious threat with every passing day, the world is looking for sources of clean and efficient energy. Electricity produced through nuclear power plants has always been a controversial topic. Whereas the proponents of nuclear power argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that produces no carbon emissions, those against it only need to point toward the devastation wreaked by nuclear accidents in the past. The worst part is that the long-term effects of nuclear disasters can be felt for thousands of years.
Scientists believe that exposure to radiation from a nuclear accident can lead to increased instances of cancer, and genetic mutations in human beings. It can also impact plant growth and animal life cycles which take a toll on the ecosystem. The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) was created in 1990 to measure the safety of all nuclear and radiological events. The INES classifies all nuclear events from levels 0-7, with level 0 being a deviation, and level 7 being a major accident.
Let’s take a look at the 10 worst nuclear disasters of all time, all of which measured a level 4 or above on the INES.
1. Chernobyl, Ukraine (Level 7)
The worst nuclear disaster in history was the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what is now Ukraine. Flaws in the nuclear reactor’s design and workers' failure to follow safety protocols led to the reactor exploding in April 1986. Scientists estimated the radioactive fallout from this explosion was 400 times greater than the fallout from the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. Countries as far as Sweden were impacted by the contamination in the atmosphere.
