Things Are Not Always What They Appear To Be
The Nuclear Power Effect and how we are susceptible to it
On 26 April 1986, a safety test was carried out on the RBMK-type nuclear reactor at Chernobyl.
The test was held to help the development of a safety procedure for cooling water in the event of an electrical power outage. Three tests had been held in 1982, but none had been able to provide a solution.
The test was delayed by 10 hours which resulted in the team that had been prepared to manage the test to be replaced by an underprepared team.
During the preparations for the test, the reactor power dropped to near-zero, an unexpected level. Power was restored by the operators, but they had unwittingly put the reactor into a highly unstable condition.
Despite a similar event occurring a few years earlier, the team conducting was unaware of the severity of the situation. The risks were not explained on the operating instructions either.
The team proceeded with the test regardless and upon completion triggered the reactor shutdown. Due to construction flaws and the design of the reactor, the shutdown caused an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction.
Superheated cooling water was released which ruptured the reactor core in a steam…
