The Chernobyl Nuclear Meltdown: What Happened?

By David Schoonmaker
Published on July 17, 2012
article image
PHOTO: EVA AND JEFF FORSSELL
An aerial view of the damaged unit 4 after the tragedy.

The international nuclear power
industry was quick to distance itself from the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.
Officials in nearly every nuclear nation assured the public that 1) the
Soviet plant’s design was unique, 2) it didn’t have a protective
containment around its reactor and 3) it lacked sophisticated safety
systems. We were to believe that deficient design was responsible for

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