Chernobyl Informative Speech Essay - 1181 Words

Attention Getter: There are currently 442 active nuclear power reactors worldwide according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Of all of the reactors worldwide, 14 have been classified as accidents where the public has been exposed to radiation. The most devastating of these incidents was the core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, better known as the Chernobyl disaster. Introduction: Today I am going to tell you 3 things about Chernobyl. * First, I am going to tell you what Chernobyl was. * Second, I will tell you Why it happened and * Finally, I will tell you what the effects were and why it’s relevant today. Body 1 â€Å"What was Chernobyl†?: * April 26, 1986 in the early morning hours, an explosion rocked a thriving†¦show more content†¦* These 2 critical errors (withdrawing the rods and slowing the reaction too rapidly) made the engineers incapable of increasing the power within the reactor. * This was a safety precaution that the engineers overrode. * Normally, in a situation where the reactor becomes unstable two fail safe measures were in place. * First, the power of the reactor could be increased to re-stabilize the nuclear reaction * And Second, the engineers could wait 24 hours to allow the reaction chemicals to dissipate * The Engineers however, had already disabled the first failsafe be removing the control rods. * The engineers also continued to turn off addition safety precautions including the emergency reactor cooling system. * This system was designed to help stop the reaction if too much heat was generated. * The emergency energy supply was also shut down, meaning there was no additional energy to run the plant. * The experiment continued and the turbine generators were also shutdown. * The electrical supply to the reactors water pumps was reduced as a result of the experiment, reducing the amount of cooling water passing through the reactor. * Because of this, water within the reactor core began to boil. * This was troublesome, since the cool water was used to reduce the heat of the reaction. * As the rate of nuclear reaction continued to accelerate, addition graphite tipped control rods