Nuclear power debate 342 for coal, 85 for natural gas, and 8 for nuclear. Nuclear power plant accidents rank first in terms of their economic cost, accounting for 41 percent of all property damage attributed to energy accidents. The Chernobyl steam explosion was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. A steam explosion and graphite fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was equipped with both types of turbines; Block 4 had the newer ones. The newer turbines, however, turned out to be more sensitive to their operating parameters, and their bearings had frequent problems with vibrations. Four RBMK reactors were at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ns. 1–4. The construction of two partially completed reactors, numbers 5 and 6, was suspended immediately after the accident at reactor N. 4, and was eventually cancelled in 1989. Reactors 1-3 continued to operate after the disaster. Reactor N. 2 was permanently shut down in 1991 after a fire broke out due to a faulty switch