1,000-ton reactor cover plate. This explosion was caused by the build up of steam pressure within the core.
             The second, more powerful explosion was caused by a reaction between steam and zirconium to produce hydrogen gas, which ignited sending flaming, radioactive debris flying out of the building (Medvedev Legacy 30). The situation worsened as the exposed core erupted into flames. It was this fire that formed a huge radioactive cloud that spread mainly over the Ukraine, Belarus, and parts of Scandinavia, but also spread to Asia and Western Europe.
             A combination of design and construction flaws, human error, a lack of safety, and violations of operating regulations caused the incident at Chernobyl. The construction of the Chernobyl plant was compromised by the lack of quality materials, workers, and management. The materials provided for the construction came exclusively from Soviet factories. The majority of the materials delivered to the site were faulty and had to be replaced which lead to delays (Marples 122). It was also not unc
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