The Chernobyl accident, which occurred on 26th April 1986, was one of the most catastrophic nuclear disasters in history. A sudden failure during a safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine released a massive amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The disaster resulted in immediate fatalities, long-term health consequences, widespread environmental contamination, and the evacuation of thousands of people. In this blog post, marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, I have pulled together just a small selection of our digital library resources that will help you explore the accident, the events leading up to it and the aftermath.
What did the papers say?
While the Chernobyl accident occurred in the early hours of 26th April, it only began to be reported on 2 or 3 days after the event. The Soviet regime had wanted to keep news of the accident as contained as possible but when the alarms at a nuclear power plant in Sweden were set off by radiation levels, it was quickly worked out the radiation was coming from outwith Sweden and the Soviet government were forced to confirm the accident had occurred. ...continue reading "The Chernobyl disaster: online library resources for your research"
