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
Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant ( []) is a nuclear power station in Russia. It is located in the Smolensk region, in Desnogorsk province, approximately 100 km from Smolensk, 115 km from Bryansk and 320 km from Moscow. Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant is the biggest nuclear plant in the Nechernozem region of Russia. The plant operates three RBMK-1000 reactors (1000 MW water-cooled graphite-moderated channel-type reactors). The plant was supposed to have four units but the construction of the 4th reactor was stopped in 1993 following the Chernobyl disaster. All the units are equipped with emergency response systems,