Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Lore & Background

Plans for the plant were first conceived in 1966 and construction began in 1972. The design called for 12 units, which would have made it the largest nuclear power plant in the world. Four RBMK-1000 reactors were completed, each able to produce 1,000 megawatts of electric power, and together they supplied about 10% of the electricity of Ukraine. The city of Pripyat was built alongside to house the workers and their families.

Reactor No. 1 was commissioned in 1977, followed by No. 2 in 1978, No. 3 in 1981 and No. 4 in 1983. It was the third Soviet RBMK plant and the first on Ukrainian soil. A fifth reactor was around 70% complete when the accident happened. Work on units five and six was suspended and then cancelled on April 20, 1989.

Reader's Guide

The three other reactors kept running after the accident. Unit 2 was shut down for good in 1991 after a turbine fire, Unit 1 followed in 1996 and Unit 3 in 2000, closures largely attributed to foreign pressure. The operator announced in 2013 that units 1 to 3 had been fully defueled, and decommissioning began in 2015. The process is expected to last until 2065, and the site still has a large workforce.

The plant and the zone are administered by the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management. Russian troops occupied the plant from 24 February to 31 March 2022 during the invasion of Ukraine.

The RBMK design is considered unusual and is described as favouring cost efficiency over safety when compared with other reactor designs.

Did You Know?

• The plant was originally named after V. I. Lenin.
• A crane used during construction could lift loads of up to 640 tons.
• Reactor No. 5 was scheduled to come online in November 1986.