Chernobyl disaster other undamaged reactors at the power station, with No. 3 continuing to produce electricity up into 2000. The accident motivated safety upgrades on all remaining Soviet-designed reactors in the RBMK (Chernobyl No. 4) family, of which eleven continued to power electric grids . The disaster began during a systems test on 26 April 1986 at reactor 4 of the Chernobyl plant near Pripyat and in proximity to the administrative border with Belarus and the Dnieper River. There was a sudden and unexpected power surge. When operators attempted an emergency shutdown, a much larger spike in power output occurred. This second
Effects of the Chernobyl disaster the environment although these conclusions have been challenged. Various birds in the area appear to have adapted to lower levels of radiation by producing more antioxidants, such as glutathione, to help mitigate the oxidative stress. Invertebrate populations (including bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and spiders) significantly decreased. As of 2009, most radioactivity around Chernobyl was located in the top layer of soil, where many invertebrates live or lay their eggs. The reduced abundance of invertebrates could have negative implications for the entire ecosystem surrounding Chernobyl. Radionuclides migrate through either soil diffusion or transportation within the soil solution. The effects of ionizing