Description of the event

The deep reconstruction of political orders and balances between State and Society in the USSR, started by Gorbacev in March 1985, is afflicted, one year later, by the worst nuclear disaster in the history.
Chernobyl symbolizes the limits and the danger of nuclear energy, nuclear waste, human failures, safety against natural disaster as earthquakes or political catastrophes as terrorist attacks.
On April 26th, 1986 one of the reactors number 4 of the “Lenin” atomic station in Chernobyl (in Ukraine territory – 130 km from Kiev - but not far from Belarus borders) catches fire. The fire, to put out which die 30 firemen, causes a toxic radioactive cloud, spreading beyond USSR borders. More than 100.000 Soviet citizens are evacuated from the polluted area (comprising about 70% of today’s Belarus) and from the neighbouring ones, while the damaged reactor is insulated by means of a cement casting “Sarcophagus”. The people who had to do the janitorial exercises (the so called liquidators because robots did not work because of the radioactivity, were exposed to very heavy radiation. Ten thousands died or were heavily wounded or got ill. Nevertheless, this casting would not be able to extinguish at all the reaction primed and, moreover, warrants a no longer than 20-30 years efficiency.
In 1989 the Soviet government stops and cancels the building of the fifth and the sixth reactors; in 1991 the new Ukraine government decides (never carrying out this plan) to stop definitively the atomic station’s activity.
In 1997 the G7 countries, together with Russia, Ukraine and the European Union, launch a plan to strengthen the covering of the burned reactor, able to block the radiation for 100 years.
After long international negotiations, on December 15th, 2000 the definitive closing of the atomic station is established closing Block 3.
April 2001 the Ukraine government gives the order to built a second sarcophagus round the first one. The construction shall be realized between 2007-2010. The destruction of the blocks 1-3 could be done 2020 – 2030. .