Why is Chernobyl uninhabitable but Hiroshima isn't?

The radiation release from the Chernobyl accident was 200 times that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs combined. The amount of radioactivity is particularly high after the Chernobyl accident because much of the radiation was emitted in the form iodine-131.

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Why is Hiroshima livable but not Chernobyl?

Answer and Explanation:

The first was that the explosion at Chernobyl happened on the ground, whereas the explosion at Hiroshima happened high in the air above the city, which greatly reduced the radioactive levels. The second difference was the strength of the explosions.

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How is Chernobyl more radioactive than Hiroshima?

On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl's reactor number four melted down as a result of human error, releasing vast quantities of radioactive particles and gases into the surrounding landscape – 400 times more radioactivity to the environment than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

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Why is Hiroshima not radioactive still?

Neutrons can cause non-radioactive materials to become radioactive when caught by atomic nuclei. However, since the bombs were detonated so far above the ground, there was very little contamination—especially in contrast to nuclear test sites such as those in Nevada.

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Why didn't Chernobyl explode like a nuclear bomb?

The explosion was chemical, driven by gases and steam generated by the core runaway, not by nuclear reactions; no commercial nuclear reactor contains a high enough concentration of U-235 or plutonium to cause a nuclear explosion.

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Why can you live in Hiroshima but not in Chernobyl?

18 related questions found

What was Chernobyl the catastrophe that never ended?

The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in Ukraine was 30 years ago, but the crisis is still with us today. That's because radiation virtually never dies. After the explosion in 1986, the Soviets built a primitive sarcophagus, a tomb to cover the stricken reactor. But it wasn't meant to last very long and it hasn't.

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Will Chernobyl ever be habitable again?

How Long Will It Take For Ground Radiation To Break Down? On average, the response to when Chernobyl and, by extension, Pripyat, will be habitable again is about 20,000 years.

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What was worse Chernobyl or Hiroshima?

"Compared with other nuclear events: The Chernobyl explosion put 400 times more radioactive material into the Earth's atmosphere than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima; atomic weapons tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s all together are estimated to have put some 100 to 1,000 times more radioactive material into ...

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Where is the most radioactive place on earth?

Fukushima is the most radioactive place on Earth. A tsunami led to reactors melting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Even though it's been nine years, it doesn't mean the disaster is behind us.

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How long till Hiroshima is livable?

It is thought that the reactor site will not become habitable again for at least 20,000 years, according to a 2016 report.

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How many Hiroshima bombs equals Chernobyl?

Compared with other nuclear events: The Chernobyl explosion put 400 times more radioactive material into the Earth's atmosphere than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima; atomic weapons tests con ducted in the 1950s and 1960s all together are esti mated to have put some 100 to 1,000 times more radioactive material into ...

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Was Chernobyl worse than Fukushima?

The accident at Fukushima occurred after a series of tsunami waves struck the facility and disabled systems needed to cool the nuclear fuel. The accident at Chernobyl stemmed from a flawed reactor design and human error. It released about 10 times the radiation that was released after the Fukushima accident.

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Does Japan still suffer from radiation?

Depending on the material, this could be a fraction of a second or multiple decades. Does this mean that the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still radioactive today? The answer is a definitive no. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, residual radiation was left behind but this declined rapidly.

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How long until Chernobyl is safe?

More than 30 years on, scientists estimate the zone around the former plant will not be habitable for up to 20,000 years. The disaster took place near the city of Chernobyl in the former USSR, which invested heavily in nuclear power after World War II.

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Can people live in Hiroshima and Nagasaki now?

40,000 people died immediately. Another roughly 30,000 died from aftereffects. However, as was the case with Hiroshima, the radioactivity did not linger. Just like Hiroshima, Nagasaki is perfectly safe for people to live in today.

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Why did some buildings survive Hiroshima?

In Hiroshima almost everything up to about one mile from X was completely destroyed, except for a small number (about 50) of heavily reinforced concrete buildings, most of which were specially designed to withstand earthquake shock, which were not collapsed by the blast; most of these buildings had their interiors ...

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Is reactor 4 still burning?

Chernobyl reactor 4 is no longer burning. The reactor was originally covered after the disaster, but it resulted in a leak of nuclear waste and needed to be replaced.

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What is the most radiated thing on Earth?

The radioactivity of radium then must be enormous. This substance is the most radioactive natural element, a million times more so than uranium. It is so radioactive that it gives off a pale blue glow. Yet it would still take the Curies another three years to produce a pure radium salt.

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What is more toxic than Chernobyl?

According to a report by the Worldwatch Institute on nuclear waste, Karachay is the most polluted (open-air) place on Earth from a radiological point of view.

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Do people live in Hiroshima today?

It is currently a major urban center with a population of 1.12 million people. Major industries in Hiroshima today are machinery, automotive (Mazda) and food processing. Interestingly enough, one quarter of Hiroshima's electricity is from nuclear power. Rebuilding efforts over the decades have been fruitful.

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Why can't people return to Pripyat?

They were told they would be gone for two or three days and advised to take the minimum: identity papers, documents, food and clothing. None ever returned to live in Pripyat, declared too radioactively dangerous for human habitation for at least 24,000 years.

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What was the worst nuclear disaster in the world?

The world's first nuclear reactor meltdown was the NRX reactor at Chalk River Laboratories, Ontario, Canada in 1952. The worst nuclear accident to date is the Chernobyl disaster which occurred in 1986 in Ukraine. The accident killed approximately 30 people directly and damaged approximately $7 billion of property.

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Are there mutated animals in Chernobyl?

Chernobyl animals are mutants ...

Among breeding birds in the region, rare species suffered disproportional effects from the explosion's radiation compared to common species.

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Will Chernobyl ever be radiation free?

It is hard to know for sure when radioactive contamination will clear. While it naturally fades over time, this can sometimes take thousands of years. Scientists have previously said, due to the huge amount of contamination in the Chernobyl area, the exclusion zone will not be habitable for many, many years.

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Are there still dogs in Chernobyl?

Today, an area with a roughly 19-mile radius surrounding the plant is essentially uninhabited by humans—but it hosts hundreds of dogs.

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