Facts We May Not Know About Chernobyl Disaster

Decommission

The explosion of Chernobyl happened in 1986, and it was then shut down, right? Wrong. Due to power outages and being far behind American technology, as well as a weak economy that only got worse after the disaster, the Soviet Union kept the plant running all the way until 2000. Reactor units 1, 2, and 3 were all still generating power until 1991, when unit 2 got damaged in a fire.

Five years later, health concerns caused an outcry and unit 1 was shut down, only to be followed by unit 3 which was shut down only after international negotiations declared the plant needed to be shut for good.