"Good evening comrades. All of you know that there has been an incredible misfortune - that accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant. It has painfully affected the soviet people, and shocked the international community. For the first time, we confront the real force of nuclear energy, out of control" (LaMotte 1). These very words were delivered by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev following the Chernobyl catastrophe. Chernobyl was a nuclear power plant located in the former Soviet Union. Eighty miles north of Kiev, the reactor four exploded on April 26, 1986.
             The disaster started on April 25, 1986, as a test was put underway. The test was to determine how long the reactor's turbines would spin and supply power following a loss of main electric power supply. Operational error caused the test to go bad. The power fell way below safe levels. To regain power, control rods were removed. The flow of feed water was reduced as well to maintain steam pressure. Despite efforts, the pumps powered by slowing turbines provided less and less cooling to the reactor. A dramatic power surge followed. The quick increase in temperature caused the fuel elements to rupture. The fuel particles reacted with the water to create an explosion of steam. A fireball blew off the reactor's steel and concrete lid. A second explosion came not long after the first sending fragments of burning feul and graphite into the atmosphere. The graphite moderator had burst into flames. It burnt for nine days causing the release of most of the radioactivity. In fact 5% of the reactor core was thrown into the atmosphere.
             Following the disaster a total of over 600,000 people were involved in the recovery and cleanup which lasted through 1987. Thirty-one people were killed while 45,000 residents living within a 10km radius of the plant were evacuated. Later another 116,000 others were moved. Radioactive fallout covered areas such as Belarus, Ukraine, R...