Lightboxes
Cart
alb3120338

The Elephants Foot of the Chernobyl disaster.

The Elephants Foot of the Chernobyl disaster. In the immediate aftermath of the meltdown, a few minutes near this object, would bring certain death. today, it is still radioactive. heat and death, though its power has weakened. The Chernobyl disaster happened at 1:23am on April 26, 1986, when extremely hot nuclear fuel rods were lowered into cooling water, an immense amount of steam was created, which — because of the reactors’ design flaws — created more reactivity in the nuclear core of reactor number 4. The resultant power surge caused an immense explosion that detached the 1,000-ton plate covering the reactor core, releasing radiation into the atmosphere and cutting off the flow of coolant into the reactor. The “Elephant’s Foot” is a solid mass made of melted nuclear fuel mixed with lots and lots of concrete, sand, and core sealing material that the fuel had melted through. It is located in a basement area under the original location of the core.
Share
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Add to another lightbox

Add to another lightbox
add to lightbox print share
Do you already have an account? Sign in
You do not have an account? Register
Buy this image
Loading...
Title:
The Elephants Foot of the Chernobyl disaster.
Caption:
The Elephants Foot of the Chernobyl disaster. In the immediate aftermath of the meltdown, a few minutes near this object, would bring certain death. today, it is still radioactive. heat and death, though its power has weakened. The Chernobyl disaster happened at 1:23am on April 26, 1986, when extremely hot nuclear fuel rods were lowered into cooling water, an immense amount of steam was created, which — because of the reactors’ design flaws — created more reactivity in the nuclear core of reactor number 4. The resultant power surge caused an immense explosion that detached the 1,000-ton plate covering the reactor core, releasing radiation into the atmosphere and cutting off the flow of coolant into the reactor. The “Elephant’s Foot” is a solid mass made of melted nuclear fuel mixed with lots and lots of concrete, sand, and core sealing material that the fuel had melted through. It is located in a basement area under the original location of the core.
Credit:
Album / Universal Images Group / Universal History Archive
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?
Image size:
5100 x 3500 px | 51.1 MB
Print size:
43.2 x 29.6 cm | 17.0 x 11.7 in (300 dpi)
Keywords: