The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located just outside of the industrial city of Pripyat, USSR is infamous for the nuclear disaster that happened on April 26, 1986 at 1:23 a.m. local time at the fourth unit of the plant. The cause of the accident was a major power surge during a shutdown test of the plant’s reactor, which was the result of poor design and materials. 

         “I was 30 years old,” Algebra 2 and Honors Geometry teacher Charles Waskow said. “It was all over the news, and being in the military we went on alert. “We were scared that we were going to be sent into the area to help clean up.”

         After the accident had occurred, over 100,000 people were evacuated and an exclusion zone was created in order to keep the spread of radiation away from civilians. 237 workers were hospitalized and 134 of them had acute radiation syndrome. 28 of those with ARS died within the next month. Everyone outside of the Soviet Union had not known about the disaster until days after.

         “I was 43 years old,” Chemistry and Honors Physics teacher Lance Homeniuck said. “I heard it on the evening news, not for a while until afterwards because the Soviets kept it secret until radioactive clouds were blowing over northern Europe. 

         Even almost 40 years after the disaster, the effects of the disaster are still felt. The exclusion zone is still inhabited, and the Ukrainian government has been in the process of building the New Safe Containment over the Plant to keep further radiation from seeping out. 

         “Some people thought it was the end of the world, some were critical of the Soviet government and science establishment, some were sure it would happen here,” Homeniuck said. “ Of course a lot of folks were apathetic.”