This Day in History: , Nuclear Disaster <br />at Chernobyl.<br />April 26, 1986.<br />The disaster at Chernobyl, located about 65 miles from Kiev in the former Soviet Union, is the worst nuclear power plant accident to date.<br />50 tons of radioactive material was released into the atmosphere after an explosion of the Number 4 reactor, caused by an engineering experiment.<br />The 30,000 residents of <br />the nearby community of <br />Pripyat were evacuated the next day.<br />The Soviet government <br />attempted a cover-up.<br />But two days after the disaster, radiation levels <br />800 miles away in Sweden were detected at <br />40% higher than the normal level.<br />32 people were initially <br />killed in the Chernobyl plant. <br />5,000 Soviets eventually died <br />from radiation-induced illnesses.<br />Millions of acres of forest <br />and farmland across Northern <br />and Eastern Europe were contaminated.<br />The former residents of <br />Pripyat have never returned
