A Scientific Explanation of the Tragic Sequence of Events That Caused the Chernobyl Disaster

With the sublime HBO series Chernobyl bringing the catastrophic nuclear disaster of 1986 back into the forefront, ACS Reactions crafted a wonderful animated scientific explanation of the sequence of events that took place on April 26, 1986 at reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine.

On April 26, 1986 the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl Power Complex nuclear reactor 4 exploded.The explosion was caused by major fundamental flaws in the reactor design on top of a total disregard for protocol by some of the higher ranking people in charge…Chernobyl serves as a reminder of what can happen when a safety culture becomes unhinged.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.